Digimon: All Stars
by Vaporeone
Summary: It's been 6 years since the Chosen were informed of other parallel universes. Three since Daemon's sealing. Two since Beelzemon's return to the Digiworld. Five since Lucemon and Belphemon's defeat.  As the seals of the Seven Demons break... worlds collide
1. Episode 1: New Adventure

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. If I did own Digimon, this story would be Season 6, Adventure 02 wouldn't have any plotholes, and… Frontier wouldn't have been so half-baked.

Author's note:

The times are somewhat off for the first three chapters, so just read by the content. I'll be editing these first few chapters once Spring Break ends to fix the errors. Just know that these first four chapters all take place on the same day.

Digimon: All-Stars

Episode 1: New Adventure

April 1, 2006

(Hikari Yagami's POV)

-- 8:05 AM Morning – Odaiba Senior High – Class 3A --

"Daimon Chika."

"Hai!"

"Kouichi Kimura."

"Hai."

"Motomiya Daisuke."

Silence.

"Motomiya Daisuke!"

A male teen, about 15 years of age, ran up to the door, panting heavily. Daisuke "Davis" Motomiya. "Here," he gasped out. "Gomen." He took his seat to my left. His maroon jacket was untidy and wrinkled, and sweat dripped down his face. His goggles snugly rested on his head holding back some of his spiky brown hair. How he managed to get into high school with those goggles on, I don't know. But it's just like him to wear them wherever he goes. Daisuke flashed a grin at me. I giggled behind my hand a bit and returned my gaze to the teacher standing at the front of the classroom.

"Noguchi Ikuto."

"Hai!"

"Takaishi Takeru."

"Hai." Another 15 year old boy to my right piped up. Takeru "T.K." Takaishi. His short blonde hair was hidden under his canvas hat. Boys and their headgear. Least Takeru was cute. He looked back down to his desk and scribbled away on some notebook paper. He was working on the Digimon memorandum of our adventures from the past six or so years. It's amazing how much time has passed since our adventures began.

"Yagami Hikari."

"Hai." I smiled and my own bright voice responded.

The teacher nodded and closed the role book to begin the lesson. It was the beginning of a new school year. The other Chosen Children and I had enrolled into the local Odaiba Senior High School. At least, the younger of the Chosen Children, except Ken and Iori. Ken decided to go to another high school for a fresh start without any former students recognizing him, so he's going to Shibuya Senior High, and Iori is going to Odaiba Junior High since he's younger than us by three years. Going back to school like this was a sign of normalcy.

It felt like a dream. It was peaceful. I propped my head up using my arm as a stand, my cheek resting in my hand. I gazed out the window at blue sky beyond the window and up at the fluffy cotton ball clouds floating away. About three years have passed since MaloMyotismon was defeated. The world knew about Digimon, who were not regarded as much of a threat compared to before. For once, the Chosen Children all around the world were experiencing a time of peace. I hoped this dream would last forever.

"Yagami-san!"

My head snapped up and I turned to look at the teacher from my daydream.

"Please take out some paper and pencil so that you may take down these notes."

"H-hai, sensei." I said in a small voice. I reached down to my bag on the floor to pull out my notebook and a pencil. I'm usually not clumsy, but I accidentally lost my grip on my pencil, which slipped to the floor, rolling away from me. I sighed and reached to pick it up… but I felt warmth under my fingertips.

Or was it cold? I was hit by a sudden surge of feelings or electricity,_something._ And it was cold. Not a biting cold, but just rather uncomfortable. Before my eyes flashed something that I had only seen before in a world parallel our own. Darkness loomed around me, and eyes penetrated the gloom, piercing my soul. I shook my head a bit to clear the image out of my mind and looked over.

The male teen sitting behind me was reaching down to pick up the pencil and had gotten to it first, his fingertips under mine.

"A-ah, gomen." He lifted the pencil up and placed it in my hand. Shouldn't it have been I to say sorry?

We both sat upright to copy the notes on the board. Before doing so, I stole a glance back to the boy sitting behind me. His navy blue hair was disheveled, and had sideburns run down the sides of his face. His bangs almost covered one half of his face, but with a hand, he pushed it behind his ear… almost like a girl. He looked up at me with sad, dark eyes that reminded me of Ken's. My breath hitched in my throat and I turn back to my notebook, trying to convince myself it was nothing. He was just another ordinary guy in class. He knew nothing about the Darkness, the Dark Ocean, or anything about the Digital World. I tried to reassure myself that, and with a deep breath, I pushed the thoughts out of my mind. I picked up my pencil and took down the notes.

The dream mirror was slowly cracking.

-- 11:53 AM Lunch period – Odaiba Senior High – Stairs to roof --

I followed Daisuke up to the roof. He was yawning throughout our morning classes and demanded to have a little nap under the sun on the roof. T.K followed right behind me, and he agreed. He considered the roof to be the best spot he could relax and write in his notebook, provided it wasn't windy. We opened the door to a deserted rooftop. Almost deserted. The teen that sat behind me in class had beat us up there, and he was sitting by the railing, looking out. He had a bentou with him, and he ate in small bites.

T.K. and Davis barely registered our peer. Davis circled in a spot like a dog before collapsing onto the warm concrete, sighing in contentment. T.K. smiled a bit and took a seat a few feet away. I sat down beside T.K. and watched as he pulled out his notebook and started to write. It was quiet and peaceful. I didn't even feel that dark feeling from earlier. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warm sunlight beaming down on us, like a god smiling on its children.

It wasn't too long before we heard a ring. T.K. glanced up from his writing to see where it was coming from, then ignored it. Davis meanwhile was already snoring, a snotbubble coming out of his nose and drool running down the left side of his mouth. I looked up and saw the only other person on the roof take out his cell phone. He pressed a button and held it up to his ear. I didn't want to, but I tried to make out what he was saying. His voice was soft, but not inaudible.

"Moshimoshi?" Pause. "Takuya?" Another pause. "Iie, I'm at lunch." He flashed a small smile to himself. "Hey otouto. How's school so far?"

Otouto? He has a little brother? And wasn't it against the rules to use the cell phone on grounds? Not like it mattered… Almost no one came to the roof anyways.

He chuckled softly, apparently amused by his brother. "I see. It's not too different here." He paused again, and tried to find something to talk about. His eyes landed on me and I held my breath. He turned around so as not to face me and probably hide his voice. I tried my hardest to catch what he was saying.

"Listen. I ran into someone that… felt like you." Pause. "I don't know. It's like she had this bright aura all around her." Pause. "I'm not sure." There was silence. Then he seemed to relax a bit, his back easing and his shoulders slouched. "What was that?" Pause. "Kouji!" His exclamation made T.K. raise his eyes in question. I kind of shrug, and he resumed writing.

"You didn't have to curse." I smiled a bit, now understanding why the boy was so surprised. "What's got you so worked up?" I heard a sigh and our male peer turned around, resting his back against the grate and closing his eyes. "Possibly." He seemed to be in a very contemplative mood. After a moment, he finally spoke. "Listen, lunch is almost over. I'll see you in a few hours, okay otouto?" One last pause. "I know, Kouji, I know." He put his cell phone away and basked under the sunlight as well, almost embracing it with all his heart and soul. Dark eyes opened and caught mine.

My breath hitched and I stood up, excusing myself to "use the bathroom". It was just an excuse to get away. I went back down the stairs, my classmate was the only thing on my mind. Who was he?

-- 2:31 PM Afternoon – Odaiba Senior High – School grounds--

"Hey, Kari! Wait up!"

I had just stepped out of school when a girl with big round glasses ran up to me, her purple hair flying out behind her, calling me by my nickname. She stopped near me and bent over slightly, panting heavily.

"Hi, Yolie," I said. Her real name was Miyako, but she preferred to be called Yolie, just like I prefer 'Kari' over 'Hikari'.

"Sorry." She straightened up, wearing her usual grin on her face. "I'm going over to the train station and head over to Ken's school. He said he was going to wait for me there and we'll hang out a bit. You want to come with?"

The thought of the boy from earlier today crossed my mind and I did a quick look over the grounds of the school, seeing all the students filing out. I didn't see him in sight. I was somewhat worried after feeling that dark aura earlier. If anyone else could sense the same things I did, it would be Ken. Therefore, it would probably be beneficial that I go with Yolie to see him. Maybe he knew something more that I didn't.

"Sure, I'll go. I've got nothing planned," I said.

Yolie and I started off the premises of Odaiba Senior High. We had not taken more than a couple of steps before we heard a small explosion. As panicked as I already was over my encounter today, I whirled around. I looked for the source at the same time a place to hide.

"Relax, Kari." Takeru walked up to us. "I'm sure it's just Davis blowing up the cooking classrooms. _Again_."

Sure enough, T.K. was right. Yolie and I spotted an open window with a billowing column of black smoke. Typical Davis. Three years ago, he said he wanted to run a ramen cart, and yet he can't even cook. Everything felt normal again. Maybe what happened this morning didn't really happen after all and it had just been my imagination. Yeah, that must have been it.

"Let's get out of here before Davis decides to burn the entire school down." Yolie commented. "What a way to start off the school year, huh?"

I giggled a bit. "Yeah." I looked up at the sky. It was blue. Definitely normal. My mind just kind of wandered as T.K. started a conversation with Yolie.

"So, where are you and Ken going, Yolie?" T.K. asked.

"Oh, nowhere special. Probably just eat at some café or something. Maybe we'll go to Shinjuku for some shopping actually. That sounds like a good idea."

"You and electronics. I'm surprised you don't wear the Crest of Knowledge. Izzy'd be proud." T.K. said with a light chuckle.

I blinked a bit. Izzy? "Hey," I said while walking. "You hear about Izzy lately?"

Yolie shook her head. "I haven't seen him online. He must have been picked up by some company because of his genius brain. I'm so glad my Ken-chan hasn't been recruited, or I'd never see him again either."

"Ken-chan." T.K. said.

Yolie pouted a bit. "Yes. Ken-chan."

T.K. sniggered a bit. I rolled my eyes slightly.

"Sorry, sorry!" T.K. exclaimed. "It just… sounds funny… I'd like to see the look on his face whenever you say that. His face must turn as red as an apple!"

I couldn't help but laugh too, thinking about that. Ken had been known to be one of the darkest people in our group. It's not that he's a totally depressed and hopeless person, but he's just gone through a lot for a sixteen-year old. To have his brother die in front of his eyes when he was only eight…

"Anyways." I cough a bit to get their attention. "Izzy called Tai about a week ago. Said he had some job offer, so Yolie's guess wasn't too far off. It's some law enforcement company called DATS. Or at least it was formerly known as DATS. They needed someone to work as a kind of investigator or something. Izzy couldn't really tell us much detail, but he was trying to pass on that he's okay."

Yolie nodded. "I'll be sure to tell Mimi that. I'm sure she might be a little worried."

We arrived at the train station. It was crowded because of the senior and junior high students being dismissed from school. Nothing unusual. Just another afternoon on a school day.

"Well, this is where I leave, ladies." T.K. said. "I've got to get home. Mom wants to proofread my stuff and ask for my advice on her article on the history of paper towels."

"Ugh, she's still doing those? I thought she was being our spokesperson for the Chosen Children." Yolie said.

"Nah. She retired from that. Besides, over the past three years, the reporters on us finally decided to stop attempting interviews. She had to go back to her old job." T.K. answered.

"Maybe she just got pestered so much. Those paparazzi and newscasters are just as bad as when Ken-chan was a genius." Yolie said, shaking her head in shame. "Anyways, guess you shouldn't keep your mother and Patamon waiting."

"Yeah, I'll see you guys at school tomorrow." T.K. said, waving goodbye as he walked off.

"Later T.K." I said.

"Here, I'll pay for your ticket too, Kari. Round trip even." Yolie offered with a smile.

"Domo." I responded happily.

We walked over to the ticket machines and Yolie proceeded to insert yen for the passes. Suddenly, I felt a chill run up my spine. I looked around, wondering why I felt I had to be on guard all of a sudden. I kind of wished Gatomon were with me right now to protect me, but the plan was to leave all our Digimon at home for the first day at our new school. All I had for defense was my black suitcase bag with my schoolbooks and notebooks.

I saw what had triggered my inner warning. The boy from class was a couple machines down from us, getting a ticket as well. I opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by someone brushing past us in a rush.

"Hi Yolie and Kari! Sorry I can't talk, bye!"

I spun around, confused.

"Cody!!" Yolie exclaimed. "Geez."

"Sorry, I've got to get to cram school. Later!" The boy spun around, bowed politely, and took off, his grey school uniform and all.

He had certainly changed. He was almost as tall as me now. He still had short brown hair and bright green eyes from what I had seen from that quick moment he ran past. We had gotten distracted. Yolie was muttering, annoyed. She had punched in the wrong price for the tickets and had to start all over, her hand flying across the touch screen. I then looked back to where I had seen the boy from school. He was gone. Great, was I imagining things again?

I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

"You okay, Kari? If you're tired…" Yolie started.

"Oh, no, I'm fine." I quickly returned my hand to my side and smiled. "Just a bit dizzy. So much going on at once, I guess."

"Good. Because maybe you can help me decide what to do with Ken this afternoon or any other date."

"Ehh?!" I exclaimed in surprise.

Yolie laughed, but stopped when we heard the shriek of a train pulling in. "Oh crap, come on, the train's arriving!" She grabbed my hand and dragged me off to the platform. We boarded the train just in time, the door nearly closing on my skirt as we slipped in. We looked at each other and laughed.

The train was crowded, but not overflowing. The seats were all filled, so we had to stand. Wasn't any problem. Not until something caught my eye. There he was again. That boy. He was standing on the other side of the car, holding onto one of the handrails. He seemed kind of out of it, staring out of the window.

"Hey, Yolie, look. He's from our school, isn't he?" I whispered to her.

Yolie looked over thoughtfully. "Yeah. He's wearing the Odaiba High uniform.

"I don't know if it's coincidence… He sits behind me in class. Why is he here? Is he _stalking_ me?"

"Kari, you're the cutest girl in your class. I don't blame him if he _is_ stalking you."

"Yolie!"

Yolie tried not to laugh too much since majority of the other passengers were deathly quiet on the train. "Sorry. Well, most likely it's just a coincidence since he doesn't even seem to notice that we're here."

I nodded. He seemed to be in his own little world. I wanted to know what he was thinking of. Why had I sensed such a dark aura coming from him from that split second of contact back in school? There he stood, staring listlessly at the window. Well, everyone was either staring off to space also or sleeping on the train actually, so I guess his action was normal.

It wasn't after the first stop that he seemed to wake up from his haze. As people filed off the car and random walked on, he seemed to be more aware of his surroundings. It was as though the jerky halt the train had coming into the station shook him out of his dream. Yolie was staring off into space, dreaming about Ken. I could hear her mumbling something about a movie. I was watching this boy intently, trying to find out his secret. That is, if he had one. But he must have one. That dark aura clearly meant he _had_ a secret. My breath hitched in my throat when I heard a chime from a cell phone and he reached into the pocket of his green pants. He pulled out his own black plasticy cell phone and flipped it open.

He stared at the text message, his mouth dropping open for a second. Instantly, the lights went out on the train… and even the outside. I wondered if we had hit some kind of tunnel. But I did not recall a tunnel on this line. And then the light came back on. No, it wasn't light. It was darkness. It's hard to explain, but it was as though darkness had become the light, but I could still see through it. It also didn't help the mood any better that only Yolie, that boy, and I stood in that train car when the "lights" came back on.

The boy closed his cell phone and took two steps forward toward the window. He had an angry look on his face. For coming from such a quiet boy, I was surprised to see such an expression. He glares out the window angrily… and I follow his gaze. My heart nearly stopped. A creature of some sort was outside the train. The train hadn't stopped… so it was just kind of floating there, alongside the train.

And that's when I heard the boy's voice the second time this day.

"Go away, Duskmon!! I'm not you anymore, so just leave me alone!!"

I couldn't help but stare at the creature. It stood about two meters tall, long blonde hair flowing behind the helmet. It actually looked remotely human once I got past the armor. The skeleton-like armor was jet black and eyes stared from its shoulders, knees, and feet. Its lower arms were basically a large demon skull. Two jagged blades unsheathed outward from the mouth of the pairs of skulls. The human-like warrior kept its gaze on the boy.

In a millisecond, the warrior crouched and rushed at the boy. I let out a shrill scream, covering my mouth with my hands. I felt Yolie grab my shoulders and pull me back, ready to protect me. I could only stare in horror as the monster phased _through_ the train wall. Its blades came in contact with the boy. I felt helpless, just standing there. Time seemed to freeze and my heart felt like it stopped beating. I waited for the blood to gush from the boy's stomach.

A moment passed. Two. The warrior and the boy were frozen in time. Then, their outlines fuzzed out, as though I was watching a TV die. Then, everything went black. As soon as the vision came, it disappeared. Lights snapped back on and it was daylight outside the window. Yolie was still holding my shoulders. And the boy was standing where he was… unharmed.

He turned and saw me. He saw me. He knew. Oh God, he knew. The boy watched me with those sad eyes of his. He then looked down and away from me.

"Was that… a Digimon?" Yolie whispered.

"I… I think so." I said.

We had been unprepared for that moment. Our Digimon were left at home, and we were just two high school girls with only a schoolbag each. We stayed tense, ready for it to happen again. The next stop came and went, and Yolie and I relaxed only a hair. The boy didn't dare look over at us. Like he was ashamed or something. I wanted to go over and comfort him, but his looking away said otherwise. If he really wanted me to go over and comfort, he'd glance over at us occasionally. But he didn't.

Yet another stop came and went, and the boy still seemed to be more interested with the advertisements lining the walls of the train car than be jittered about what had just happened. I did notice that several times he pulled his cell phone out to check something and text a note.

Yolie and I were silent, but I could feel her eyes glancing between me and the boy, then look away to make it seem like she wasn't watching him intently like I was. We had to transfer over on the next stop. As the train pulled into Osaki station, I saw the boy turn and wait patiently at the door near him. He was getting off at this stop as well? The doors on the right side opened with a hiss and Yolie and I stepped out. She and I walked quickly to the platform that we had to transfer to. I carefully glanced behind me and saw the boy following us a few meters back.

"Yeah. We have a shadow." Yolie said without looking behind her.

I silently nodded and we continued walking. We approached the platform before the train arrived. The three of us, the boy included. He kept his distance during the three minute wait for the train to arrive. The train pulled up beside the platform with a screeching halt and opened its doors, welcoming us. I noticed the boy got onto another train car from us as we stepped on. The doors slid closed after a minute and we were well on our way to Shibuya station.

The silence restricted our throats. Thoughts plagued our minds as we watched the screen on the Yamanote line car tell us where we were and how far we were from the next stop. Gotanda. Meguro. Ebisu. Shibuya.

"His eyes…" I mumbled.

"They're kind of like Ken's." Yolie finished quietly.

I bit my lip. Darkness. That's what it was. I didn't want to believe it, but that's what I felt from him. A strong presence of Darkness. But for some reason, I wasn't scared of him. I thought back to what we had seen before our transfer.

"Duskmon? Is that what he called it?" I asked.

Yolie nodded. "I've never heard of it. I'll have Ken check Izzy's database on Digimon. See what he can find."

"Okay."

We patiently waited for our stop to come. The distance between our schools was staggering. This might be a problem…

"What if… this is a new enemy?" I asked, a hint of fear in my voice.

"Another human?" Yolie said. "I hope not… It was bad enough that we had to fight Ken for a while…"

"What if it is? And… Well… We have our own paths." My worry was starting to show.

Yolie broke into a grin. "Don't worry, okay? We have our Digimon. Least after today we will. I think it was silly to think that bringing our Digimon to the new school might freak out all the students."

"Yeah, I agree. We're not leaving our partner Digimon behind again." I said.

Feeling at ease, we stood in the train car, watching the minutes tick by on the screen and reading the stops. After about twenty more minutes, the train pulled into the station.

"Shibuya, Shibuya," came the announcer's voice as the doors of the train opened.

Yolie and I stepped out and looked around. It was crowded, so trying to find that boy was in vain. We exited the station and I followed Yolie, since she had an idea of where she was going. I stayed close like a child to its mother. I didn't want to get separated in case that boy was following us… or whatever was following him was following us.

"There it is." Yolie pointed ahead after about ten or so minutes of walking.

There was a group standing outside of the gate of the school. And there was Ken, separated from them like the loner he is. He stood there silently and patiently for Yolie. I smiled when he looked up at us. He definitely looked glad. It must have been a real long day for him at school. Yolie ran up to him, waving her hand in the air.

"Ken-chaaaaaaan!"

I saw Ken's cheeks light up pink. T.K. was right, and it was quite adorable really. My laughter was stifled though when a bunch of girls ran up and pretty much barricaded Yolie from getting to Ken. Fangirls. Great.

Yolie made a face. "Out of my way!!"

"No!!" chorused the girls.

Yolie clenched her schoolbag tightly and Ken slunk back in the group, utterly confused. Yolie looked like she was about to slaughter the girls and Ken seemed to try to fade back and find another way out.

"Get the hell out of here."

A boy walked up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. His dark blue jacket was unbuttoned and his white shirt wasn't even tucked in. He held his head up proudly. His dark blue hair was tied back in a ponytail—and he reminded me of the boy in my class… on the train. But he on the other hand was bolder than the other.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you girls. Get. The. Hell. Out."

He was quite intimidating actually. The fangirls around Ken stared at the boy before running off, cursing him. The male teen smirked a bit, but quickly faded when a hand reached out and rested on his shoulder. I heard a familiar, soft voice come from behind him.

"Otouto…"

I stared. It was the boy from class… the train… following us. No, not following us. He had only taken the same route as us to get to the school because his brother goes here. It all made sense now.

His long-haired twin turned and they stared at each other for a long moment, silent words exchanged through their gaze. Then, they turned and left, with several other children from the school following them. Who were they? Did they have any relation to the Digimon that Yolie and I had seen? I hoped it was nothing, but I could not shake it off at all.

"Ken-chan, I'm so glad you're okay! I should've beat up those girls when I had the chance." Yolie said, smothering Ken with hugs and cuddles.

Ken's face was as red as an apple. "Miyako-san… onegai.. We're in public."

"Still so formal, Ken-chan!" Miyako made a little pouting face and let go of him.

I smiled. Everything felt normal again. Miyako's love and Ken's shyness lulled me back into the peaceful dream we were in. As long as we had each other, there wasn't anything we couldn't do. With that in mind, I decided it was time to leave.

"Aww, come on Kari." Yolie begged me to stay longer.

"I've got to get home." I apologized. "I have to go pick up some flowers for my parents."

Ken nodded. "You know what, let's walk you to the station."

Sweet kind Ken as ever. "Arigatou." I smiled softly to him.

We headed back the way we came. So much for spending time with the two. At least this train ride would be quiet since that teen from class wasn't following us anymore. For a while I was quiet and let Yolie jabber on about school and such. Ken noticed my silence and half paid attention to Yolie's rambles. After several minutes, Ken lowered his voice and walked closer to me.

"Yagami-san, is something wrong?"

I looked at Ken, scared. Had he sensed it too? My eyes darted to the side, then met his. Yolie was still talking to his left, not realizing he wasn't listening anymore. He put a hand on my shoulder and I took a deep breath.

"Have you felt anything today?" I asked in a small voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Like… the Dark Ocean?"

Ken pulled his hand away and thought for a moment. "No. Not really. I did feel… something like you."

Okay, now that was different. "Like me?"

He nodded. "Light. I mean, it was an intimidating kind of light that suffocated the darkness, but it was still Light. It came from one of those guys in class… The one who yelled at those girls earlier when you and Miyako-san arrived."

The one the dark boy in my class is related to. This was turning stranger by the minute.

"Think it's a new enemy?" I asked worriedly.

Ken shook his head. "No, but I can't be so sure. We'll just have to wait and see. It's probably better that we don't take any action right now."

"You two are ignoring me, aren't you?" came Yolie's voice.

Ken and I instantly looked at her and tried to assure her that we weren't. But that was all of the serious talk for that afternoon. We got back to the train station and I waved good-bye to them. I went to the platform and boarded the train, alone. The whole train ride, I wondered if I was safe, and willed myself to stay awake. That was to no avail though. It had been a long day and it would be at least thirty minutes before my transfer. I closed my eyes and proceeded to nap.

-- 4:07 PM Afternoon – Odaiba-kaihin-koen Station --

Stretched as I got off the train. I was back in Odaiba. There were absolutely no problems getting from Shibuya to Osaki and Osaki to Odaiba. I exited the station and walked on familiar sidewalks and by buildings embedded in my knowledge. I took the usual path to the Takenouchi flower shop, where Sora worked.

Sora Takenouchi was growing into a fine young woman. She had short orange hair and looked pretty no matter what she wore. She plays tennis, but helps her mother about the flower shop as a means of making money. Sora currently studies at a local university to be a fashion designer.

Her backstory though is quite interesting. She bears the Crest of Love and yet she thought that she was incapable of love…

"Hi, Hikari-chan!" Sora greeted me warmly with a hug when I entered the shop.

"Hi, Sora." I smiled back at her, welcoming the kind embrace.

"So, what are you here for? Flowers for T.K.?" Sora giggled.

My face turned tomato red. "No!" I coughed a bit and calmed myself down. "No. I'm getting some flowers for my parents. Their anniversary is in a few days."

"Oh, I see." Sora then started looking over the flowers. "If you see anything nice, just tell me, alright? I'll see if I can find a good one as well."

"Okay." I responded and started through the aisles and aisles of sweet scented flowers.

The bell above the shop door dinged, signaling the entrance of a new customer.

"Sora?" came a male voice.

And I forgot to mention that the older brother of T.K., Yamato Ishida, was her boyfriend.

Sora squealed and ran over to the young man, throwing her arms around him, and kissing him on the lips. I smiled as I continued my search for the perfect bouquet. Sora and Yamato began chatting away about their new lives at the university. I caught that they were also planning where to go this evening for dinner. Didn't really need to know that. Finally settling on a bouquet of pink flowers, I walk over to them. Sora smiles in awe of my choice and takes them behind the counter.

"Hello, Matt." I said politely and bowed a bit. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, thanks." Matt said. "Flowers for my little brother?"

My cheeks lit up again. "They're for my parents!" I then turned to Sora, pulling out my cell phone from my school bag for her to scan.

"The total amount is 700 yen." Sora replied. I nodded and Sora finished the transaction. "Thank you, please come again."

I giggled at Sora being all responsible over the store. I bowed to both her and Matt and started out the door, the new bouquet of flowers in hand.

"Tell Taichi that we said hi, okay Hikari?" Matt said.

"I will. Take care!" I left the store and walked on the sidewalk with a bit of a happy step.

Everything felt so much better now that it seemed normal. I had gotten flowers for my parents' anniversary of their marriage and now I'm on my way home. At home, I would greet Gatomon when I arrive. Then, I'd give my parents the flowers and go to my room to do homework. And Tai… would be packing up to leave for a university in Osaka.

"Hey, all of you out there!"

I blinked and looked around. I turned and saw stacks of televisions behind the large window of the shop next to me. The screens all showed this one cooking show with a familiar brown-haired host with a pink cowboy hat. Mimi Tachikawa, one of the original Chosen Children, hosts a cooking show in America. Good to see that she was doing well.

"Hikari-san?"

I jerked a bit in surprise. A man had come up to me and put his hand on my shoulder. He had glasses on the bridge of his nose and his blue hair was cut short compared to the last time I saw him. Joe Kido, yet another one of the original Chosen Children. He was standing there, dressed in a dark brown suit and necktie.

"Oh, good afternoon Joe!" I chirped. "Sorry, you kind of surprised me there."

"Gomen, Hikari-san," he said to me politely. He followed my gaze to the television sets. "We're all moving on in life, aren't we?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm glad. No more hardships." _I hope._

"Yeah." There was a moment of silence as we both recalled our adventures with the group. "Anyways, I guess you're on your way home?" I nodded. "Is it all right for me to walk you home then?"

"Sure, I could use a companion." I replied.

"Where's Gatomon?" Joe asked as he walked beside me.

"Where's Gomamon?" I countered. "Gatomon's at home. I didn't want to scare anyone with her at the new school if she was waiting for me or anyone caught her."

"Ah, I see. Makes sense." Joe said thoughtfully. "Gomamon's staying at home, helping my parents. He's not really into the whole sit still and learn thing. Besides the fact that the class I have might decide to dissect him." He laughed a bit at his own joke.

"Ew. Yeah." I felt my stomach slightly heave a bit when I thought about that image.

After a moment or two of no conversation, Joe attempted again. "So… flowers. What's the occasion?"

"My parents anniversary." I said, glad that he wasn't teasing me about T.K.

We didn't have much more time to talk since we arrived at my apartment complex. I bowed to Joe and gave him my thanks for walking me home. We went our separate ways as he headed to his own apartment down the street and I took the elevator to the fourth floor to the Yagami apartment.

It was an odd silence. There were no children taking the elevators up and down and no friends visiting others. No chatter of neighbors outside their doors. It was quiet and peaceful, but at the same time a tad eerie. I exited the elevator on the fourth floor and turned the corner, proceeding to the fifth apartment on this floor. I took my key out from my bag and unlocked the door.

"Tadaima!" I called out when I opened it. I closed the door behind me and slipped out of my shoes.

"Welcome home, Hikari-chan!" I heard my mother call from the kitchen.

She was already cooking dinner from the smell of it and I saw my father sitting in the family area, watching the television. Normalcy. I went into the kitchen, kissed my mother on the cheek and handed her the bouquet. I went and peeked into my room to see my brother, Taichi, packing his suitcase and Gatomon sleeping on my bed. I sighed a bit and jumped when the phone rang. I was the closest to it, so I had to pick it up.

"Moshimoshi?" I say into the telephone receiver.

"Is Tai there?" A deep male voice came over the phone.

"…. H-hai." I said nervously. "Who is this?"

"He's being offered a job. I must speak with him."

I held my hand over the phone. "Taichi-niisan? You've got a phone call."

Tai walked out of his room and over to me, a bit confused. He took the phone out of my hand and put it to his ear.

"Hai?" he said. After a few moments, his eyes met mine.

The peaceful dream we knew shattered.

* * *

Japanese vocabulary:

hai - yes

gomen - Sorry

sensei – teacher

(domo) arigatou - thanks/thank you

moshimoshi - Hello? (phone use only)

iie - no

otouto - younger brother

bentou - lunch(box)

tadaima - I'm home!

niisan - older brother

Author's Notes:

This is my first official fanfiction in the longest time, go easy on me… somewhat.

This story has been in planning for about a year now, and hopefully I can actually finish this one.

Comments are greatly appreciated. I'm sorry if my grammar and writing skills aren't up to par as they should have been. I was trying to meet the deadline that this story would premiere on Sunday, October 14, 2007, but I got so sidetracked.

Hopefully updates for this story will come every two weeks or once each month, depending on writer's block and the amount of schoolwork I might have.

Anyways, I'm looking for beta readers for this fanfiction. I don't necessarily need someone strict on grammar/writing skills (I would prefer it if you were not overly critical… just point out areas that seem to be way too confusing). I need more of Digimon fans or non-Digimon fans to read so that I know if the story is appealing to the general public. I also need people that are knowledgeable about Japanese culture (again, nothing too critical… It was hard trying to find actual school names in Japan so I winged that, and the metro maps are a bit confusing despite having taken it around for a week or so on my trip there). Depending on how much and how well you contribute, I may have you cameo in a later chapter with a Digimon of your choice (nothing uber please).

It's a collaborative piece by the way. I'm doing all the writing, but so far a friend and myself are the major plot makers and I have had about 4 other people review the story, so be prepared to have to discuss the story with more than one person or have more than one opinion presented against/with you.

Last but not least… Thank you for reading the first chapter of Digimon: All-Stars. I apologize for the title, I'll try to think of an alternative name for it as I continue the story. Or even drop some suggestions for me! Reviews greatly appreciated!


	2. Episode 2: New Tamers

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. If I did own Digimon, then Digimon Tamers probably wouldn't have ever existed because when I saw it on TV when I was little, I thought it was the worst thing that could happen to Digimon. I know better now, Tamers is just a good a season as any of the others.

Episode 2: New Tamers

April 1, 2006

(Takato Matsuki's POV)

--- 7:38 AM Morning – Shinjuku – Takato Matsuki's house ---

Two years. Had it been that long already? I dressed up in my new dark blue uniform suit for my new senior high school. After fixing it so that I didn't look too raggedy and running a comb through my disheveled brown hair, I packed my bag and headed downstairs. The smell of bread drifted up the stairs and my nose caught it, causing my stomach to growl in hunger. My family ran a bakery on the first floor of my house, which came in handy for breakfast. I sneaked into the kitchen back of the first floor, grabbed a few different pieces of bread, and ran out.

"Matsuki Takato!! Ugh… honestly… that boy…" my mother's voice yelled after me.

I munched on one of the pieces of bread as I walked to school. My school, Shibuya Senior High, was pretty far from where I lived. It's right on the border between Shibuya and Shinjuku. I had left an hour before school started, so the sun was barely above the buildings and everywhere was still grey. The reason for getting up and leaving so early was that a bunch of friends and I wanted to meet up at the park we would always go to, and from there we'd walk to school together.

I approached the playground, noticing how small everything looked to me now. The slides and swings were made for elementary school children, and all the equipment was brightly colored and gaudy. Despite its childishness, I loved coming back here every so often.

I walked over to a large pink structure that looked like a dinosaur body and tail without the long neck and head. In place of the neck and head should have been, there was a clock stuck to the body. It looked almost alien-like in a way as well, the pink "skin" splattered with random shapes and colors. Underneath the structure, I knew that there was a hole that children could climb into. On the sides, there were two holes that served as windows for anyone who wanted to look out from the small chamber inside. I had long since grown too big and old to climb into the structure, but I couldn't leave it alone. Two of my good friends, Hirokazu "Kazu" Shioda and Kenta Kitagawa, and I still stashed shoeboxes of our Digimon cards here. And sure enough, Kazu and Kenta were sitting under the structure, Digimon cards splayed out in front of them on the ground. Juri "Jeri" Kauto and Jenrya "Henry" Lee stood to the side, watching the two play their card game. All of them were dressed in dark blue uniforms similar to my own.

The dark haired Lee turned to me, hearing me walk up through Kazu's and Kenta's argument over their battle. "Hey Takato, what's up?" he said casually.

"Same old," I said, just as casually.

It was when Jeri turned and saw me that my relaxed nature was broken. "Ohayou, Takato-kun," the light brown haired girl greeted me kindly. Her hair reached to her shoulders, and she had a small ponytail on the back of her head.

I felt my cheeks heat up. "H-hi, Jeri." I stuttered. I had a crush on her for a long time, but she had told me she only liked me as a friend. Hopes crushed, I quickly change my target and looked over Kazu's and Kenta's digicard battle.

"You… That's such a cheap card!!" Kenta exclaimed, referring to Kazu's BlackToyAgumon card that nullified all attacks if Kazu had no cards in his hands.

"It's a perfectly legal move, and you know it. Just admit it, you lost to my superior skills." Kazu boasted.

"Still at it, just like the old days, huh?" I said, looking over their shoulders. Kazu had definitely won with skill. He only had a champion, Guardromon, as his active Digimon, but his support cards were powerful. Kenta's side was littered with weak support, but his mega level MarineAngemon was his active before all of his Digipoints were depleted.

"Oh come on, let's pack it up before the Digimon Queen gets here," Lee said.

"Oh, geez." Kazu looked around, scared. "Yeah, if she sees us with these out, she'll demand a fight and cream us!"

Kazu and Kenta pile their cards into separate stacks and then reach up into the belly of the pink dinosaur structure for their shoeboxes. They tossed their cards in before shutting them and putting them back. After they came out from underneath the playground equipment, I took their place and pulled out my own box. I hesitated before removing the lid.

"Takato-kun?" Jeri asked and joined my side, feeling sentimental as well.

"Two years…" I opened the box and found the old D-Ark and my goggles.

"Don't worry, things like this take time." Jeri comforted me.

"I know…"

I pulled my gold-lined white D-ark out, running my hand over the smooth plastic. It didn't have that otherworldly feel anymore. Now it just felt like a plain children's toy. The screen was blank ever since that day.

I heard some voices approaching, but I ignored it. I looked at Jeri and talked to her in a low voice.

"The gate's been opening and closing randomly over these two years."

"Are you thinking of trying to go back again?" Jeri asked with a little bit of a worried tone.

I nodded. "I'll check it again after school today."

"Takato…"

"Don't worry, I won't run away." I held her hand for a brief moment.

Jeri sighed a bit. "Come on, we'd better go. The others are already ahead of us."

I looked around. Crap. "Oh, sorry. You go on ahead. I'll catch up."

Jeri looked at me a bit sternly. After a few moments, she turned and ran after Lee and the others. I stared at the device in my hand. I pressed a few buttons, hoping it would turn on and tell me the location of Guilmon or any other working Digivices in the area. Nothing. I was about to toss it into the box, but I got the sudden idea that I should bring it with me today. Just for good luck. I took a strap out of the box and hooked it onto my D-Ark, and put it around my neck. I lifted my shirt and dropped the device down, hiding it away from prying eyes. Slippery plastic pressed against my warm skin, right up against my beating heart. Throwing the cover back onto my shoebox and replacing it beside Kenta's and Kazu's box, I ran after my friends.

"About time, Gogglehead."

I gawked as I turned the corner. Rika was waiting a block behind the rest of the group for me. But that wasn't why I was staring. Rika had her long reddish-brown hair down instead of up in that spiky ponytail of hers. She actually looked like a girl for once. At least her skirt reached down to her knees, compared to most other girls I've seen that like cutting their skirts short.

"Ohayou, Rika." I said.

"Yo to you too. Come on. If you're going to be late, we're all going to be late too."

She turned her back to me and walked towards the rest of the group, which had to stop because of a crosswalk light. Let's see, headcount. There's Rika, Lee, Jeri, Kazu, Kenta… and…

"Hey, Ryo!" I ran up and slapped him in the back.

"Whoa! Hey, Takato." Ryo smiled at me.

Ryo was known as the Digimon King, since he's the only one known to beat Rika at the card game. We met him back in the Digital World. We didn't know much about him though. But he was a fellow Chosen and fought alongside us, that's all that mattered.

"Wonder if our classmates will be impressed that the Digimon King is here." Kazu said, excitedly. "Maybe we can pick up chicks that way."

"Those two never change." Rika commented from the back.

"Like you change much either," Kazu shot back.

I sighed. Jeri, Ryo, Lee, and I looked at each other and shook our heads. Another normal little battle between us. We didn't even need cards this time. The light turned to 'walk' and we proceeded across the street. Kazu and Kenta's conversation was the only sound between the group as we walked to school.

We reached the school grounds and saw so many teens piling through the gate. I guess we were right on time. I heard a beep come from my chest, and I pulled out my D-Ark. Weird, it turned on. It showed a screen with two flashing dots. Remembering that there were people all around me, I put the device back under my shirt, looking around. I caught sight of a boy being swarmed by fan girls. Ryo perked up a bit, looking over as well.

"I wonder what's going on." He wondered aloud, watching them.

"Don't know. Maybe we should stay out of it." Lee suggested.

I didn't know. The boy looked kind of bothered, being followed by all the girls. Ryo ran after him. Oh, great, confrontation? I followed quickly, the rest of my group behind me a few steps. Ryo went over and grabbed the boy by the arm, tugging him into our group.

"Hey! I've been looking all over for you!" Ryo said.

The girls all suddenly became disappointed, yelling at Ryo to let go of their 'Ken-chan'.

"Demo…" The indigo-haired boy started.

"Let's get to class, we don't want to be late our first day." Ryo said, dragging the boy with him.

We had no real choice but to follow. We get to our classroom and plop into a few desks off to the side so that we all sat together. The boy was hesitant to join us, he bowed as an apology.

"G-gomen…" He said. "Those girls still think I'm…"

".. Smart?" Lee finished. "You're Ken Ichijouji, aren't you?"

"H-hai!" Ken responded. "Listen, I'll just--"

"Oh come on, hang out with us." Ryo said happily. "Safer than all those girls, you know?"

"I guess… Thanks." Ken sat beside Ryo.

I took the seat to the other side of Ryo, behind Lee. Rika sat behind me, Kazu behind Ryo, and Kenta behind Ken. Jeri took the seat up in the front of the classroom, in front of Lee.

I looked up and saw the group that had been standing outside the gate come into the room. There was one guy… with goggles? Weird. I wondered if he was a Digimon fan as well. Followed right behind him was a guy with hair almost the same shade as Ken's, but his was longer and tied back in a tight ponytail. A guy. Wow. A blonde girl was a step behind that teen and seemed to have a blush on her face. They took some seats over by the window side of the room, the ponytailed boy sitting in the brightest spot he could find under the morning sun. The brunette with the goggles around his neck sat down behind him, and the girl took the seat to their right.

"Wow, another gogglehead. Is there a convention in town? Why not go over and say hi to him Gogglehead?" Rika sneered from behind me.

Wow, she had not changed one bit at all. "Haha, yeah right. I'll wait until lunch time or something." I said.

The rest of the students filed into the classroom and took their seats. The teacher stood at the front, looking into her roll book.

"Akiyama Ryo."

"Hai."

"Ichijouji Ken."

A couple of girls squealed and his "hai" was barely heard. He shyly raised his hand and the teacher saw him. She nodded her acknowledgement and looked down at the roll book again.

"Kanbara Takuya."

"Hai!!" The enthusiastic goggle boy shouted from the other side of the room.

"Reminds me of someone we know." Rika commented under her breath.

"Kauto Juri."

"Hai." Jeri said from the front, smiling.

"Kitagawa Kenta."

"Hai." Kenta said from behind Ken.

"Makino Ruki."

"Here." The teacher looked up and glared at Rika, somewhat annoyed with the English. "Hai." Rika said bluntly. The teacher continued the roll call.

"Matsuki Takato."

"Hai." I said.

"Minamoto Kouji."

"Here." Ponytail said from the other side of the room. Again, the teacher looked up. "Hai." I saw him flash a smirk after the teacher's eyes were looking away from him.

"Lee Jenrya."

"Here." Lee said from in front of me.

"Orimoto Izumi."

"Hai!" The blonde girl was just as enthusiastic as Takuya, who she sat near.

"Shioda Hirokazu"

There was silence. Okay, not exactly silence. Kazu was chatting to some girl behind him, trying to get her attention so he can hit on her.

"Shioda Hirokazu!!"

Kazu snapped around and sat up straight. "Gomen!"

The teacher shook her head. What a first day it was already turning out to be.

--- 11:50 AM Lunch period – Shibuya Senior High – Stairs to roof ---

Our steps sounded off the gray walls as Kazu, Kenta, Rika, and I headed up to the roof. Kazu was pestering Kenta for battles from prying eyes, since apparently that girl told him off for playing a childish card game. He wasn't that into girls to give up his favorite pastime.

"That girl was so not into you." Rika commented.

"Oh please, she hasn't seen anything yet. Wait til she finds out Digimon are real!" Kazu retorted.

"Oh. Please." Rika said with a voice dripping with sarcasm. "And I suppose all the girls will bow to you?"

I shook my head. Just another normal fight between those two. Rika really needed another victim for her sarcasm. Well, I guess she got it, since when we headed out onto the roof, she nearly ran into that boy with the ponytail. What's his name again? Kouji?

"Hey, watch it!" Rika exclaimed.

Kouji had his headphones on. He raised his hands and pulled them out of his ears, looking at Rika. "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

None of us could tell if he was being honest, but his tone definitely pissed Rika off.

"Yeah, well, you would've noticed if you weren't walking around with those earplugs, Ponytail!" Rika argued.

Our peer just kind of looked at her, then put his headphones back on and walked away, towards his friends.

"Look at me when I'm yelling at you, Ponytail!"

Oh boy. "You know what. I think Jeri wanted to eat lunch with me. I'll see you guys later, okay?" I pretty much said to no one since Kazu and Kenta were already settling down to play their card game, and Rika was glaring daggers at Kouji.

I went back down the stairs by myself, looking for Jeri. I checked our classroom, but she wasn't there. I went outside to check the courtyard where all the other students were gathered for their lunch. I spotted her under a tree with her bentou, eating casually. I ran over and plopped down beside her, enjoying the cool shade of the oak.

"Nice day, huh?" I said.

"Yeah. It's like a dream." Jeri said with a bit of a sigh.

I took out my bentou and ate in silence, watching passersby. The quiet between us was uncomfortable. I guessed it was because I said that I was going to see if I could get back into the Digital World today. That reminded me.

"Jeri?"

"Mm?" Jeri looked at me with her big brown eyes.

I bit my lip when I looked at her, then forced my gaze away from her. "I'm kind of getting the feeling something's going to happen."

"What do you mean?" Jeri questioned. She put her chopsticks down and looked at me, concerned as ever.

I reached into my shirt and pulled out my D-Ark by the lanyard. The screen was off, but when I pressed a button, it came on with a beep. She stared. She knew it hadn't worked since our Digimon were separated from us. But that wasn't even the tip of the iceberg.

"Look at this." I pressed a button and it pulled up what looked like a circular radar. We saw two dots on it, a white one and a red one. The red one was still, but the white one seemed to be pacing around. And they were close.

"What does this mean?" Jeri asked.

I shrugged and pressed one of the buttons again to turn it off. I returned the D-Ark to its place under my shirt. "I think those two dots are two more Chosen in the area. They must be at school here. But I can't tell who it is."

There was a few more moments of silence.

"You'll be careful, right?" Jeri said quietly.

"Huh?" I was surprised by her question. Then it hit me. "Oh. Yeah. Of course I will."

With the loss of her Digimon, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. If the Digimon were to come back, she'd just be sitting on the sidelines. She had been a Tamer like the rest of our little group, until Impmon absorbed Leomon's data. What could she do now? She couldn't fight. All she could do was watch. And with her big heart, I knew it hurt her to be so useless.

I turned my attention away from her and Digimon. I tried to focus on Ken, Ryo, and Lee sitting on a bench not too far away from us, talking and hanging out. Having a good time, uninformed of what Jeri and I knew. It kept eating away at me. I wanted the end of the school day to come already so I could check this out.

--- 2:38 PM Afternoon – Shibuya Senior High – School grounds ---

I ran out of my classroom, Jeri following me closely. I wanted to get to Guilmon's old hiding place as soon as possible. My heart was beating a hundred times per second from my excitement.

"Takato! Slow down!" Jeri begged.

I slowed to a walk, now out on the school grounds, outside that stuffy building. I didn't want to wait. I had to see Guilmon. I didn't even want to think that the gate was closed. It had to be open today. It just had to be. I'm brought out of my excitement when I heard a buzz and a ring. My cell phone in my pocket was going off. What the? I picked it up.

"Moshimoshi?" I answered.

"Matsuki?" A familiar gruff voice came from the other end. Yamaki.

I froze. Why would he be calling me? The Digimon escapade was over and there was no more Hypnos, though the government still wanted to know about Digimon. But he knew to leave me alone after the whole ordeal. What more was there to talk about?

"Hai?" I said, a bit hesitant.

"Listen to me. Don't look around. I'm pretty sure there's a DATS member tracking you."

I looked at Jeri and she was looking back at me. My eyes did a quick scan of the grounds. There was a lady in what was supposed an officer uniform on one side of the grounds. She had long purple hair, and her eyes seemed to be locked onto me. Is that who he meant?

Yamaki continued. "She won't harm you, but I'm informing you that she's not an enemy. There's been… new activity." My eyes met Jeri's again. She had moved closer to catch a bit of Yamaki's talking. "Try to stay out of it if possible, you got it? We can't guarantee anything yet, but if there's trouble…" He let it hang.

"I understand. But just me?"

"Not just you. She'll be observing the school you go to, since all the children involved attend your school." He meant my friends. "I can't disclose to you any information of what's been going on, but consider this a warning of what might be to come."

"Is there a gate?" I blurted out.

"What?"

"Is there a new Digital Gate?" I asked.

"Information is classified." I cursed and Jeri looked at me sternly. "Just don't worry about it right now." Yamaki told me. "Just be careful."

With that, I heard the phone click. I hung up my phone and put it back in my pocket. Great. Now I had a stalker and there's something going on with the Digimon? I knew there was something fishy now. I looked at Jeri.

"Let's go."

She nodded and followed me quickly out of the gate. I brushed past the gogglehead from this morning. In my mind, I got a flash of something, and I stopped a few steps away from him, turning around. He looked at me and our almost identical brown eyes met.

"Takato, I thought you said we're going!"

I snapped out of it and ran after her. We pretty much ran along the sidewalk unless we had to stop for a traffic light, wanting to get there as fast as possible since we were both worried. Only going as fast as our feet would take us, we arrived at the park in about fifteen minutes, give a take a few. Jeri and I looked around to make sure no other children would follow us to Guilmon's hiding spot.

We pushed aside some bushes and walked up the small path to the tiny concrete building. The gate was locked. Not a problem. I pulled out a key and unlocked it. I had put it there to keep out any wanderers that might stumble upon the Digital Gate in the hole that Guilmon dug in the floor of the building. Jeri and I stepped into the concrete shack. It was damp and dark, but we weren't scared.

The hole was partially filled in, just as I had left it the last time I came. I took the shovels that I hid in the corner and the two of us started digging. The ground was soft, since I had not packed it down to make it easier to come back later. After a while, a glow came from under the dirt. A few shovelfuls of dirt later, the glow was brighter and we could see random polygons and 0s and 1s. The Digital Gate. It was crude and small, but it was all that we had.

"Is it… open?" Jeri asked. This was her first time coming here. She had always refused my offers to go into the Digital World when I told her the gate was open in the past two years.

"It looks like it." I said. "But there's only one way to find out."

I crawled into the hole, Jeri following right behind me. We were getting our school uniforms dirty, but we couldn't care less. We were going into the Digital World. I felt my D-Ark grow warm against my chest and felt the familiar swirling falling feeling of passing through the gate. It felt like we were falling through nothing but a void. I felt Jeri's hand slip into mine and I held onto her tightly, so we wouldn't get separated.

We landed beside each other in cool, soft grass. I didn't realize my eyes had closed, so I opened them. I almost thought we hadn't gone to the Digital World. The sky was bright blue and the clouds fluffy. The world in the sky was gone and I didn't see any data streams in sight.

"Are we… really back?" Jeri asked, holding onto me tightly.

The Digital World looked different than the last time I had come here. What had happened in these past few months the gate was closed? Or had it really been closed…? We didn't have much time to think or ask anything else when a loud roar sounded above us. Black rain clouds filled the bright sky in an instant and thunder crashed. A large blue dragon appeared in the clouds and focused its four eyes down at me from behind a jagged blue mask. Chains rattled as the twisted body turned this way and that through the clouds. I felt so tiny under him, and I'm sure Jeri felt the same as well. Its voice boomed and shook our bones, but we weren't scared.

"Takato. Jeri. We have been waiting."

-----

Japanese vocabulary:

ohayou (gozaimasu) - good morning

demo - but...

gomen – sorry

hai - yes

bentou - lunch(box)

moshimoshi - hello? (phone use only)

Author's Notes

Ugh. Tried to meet the deadline again, and I guess I made it. It's a pretty short chapter, which doesn't feel right to me at _all_.

Most likely I'll go back and revise this. If anyone can help fill me in on Tamers, or what I can add/fix to this chapter to make it better, send me a message. I'm not too knowledgeable on Tamers, so I'm trying to catch up by watching the season.

Updates/Revisions

Chapter 1 has been revised with a new scene that should help hint towards the coming chapter.

Chapter 3 Release Date: 11/4 or 11/5 most likely

-----

Sneek preview of Episode 3: "New Frontier"

(Kouji Minamoto's POV)

"Mina… bara….moto…. Ta…. ji-kun... Your future… a game … has started… decide your future."

Was I hearing things? Sure, my song was saying, "But what game is it?", but that voice… I've heard it before. I looked around me. Takuya was staring at me confusedly as well. I reached up and pulled the earphone out of my ear so that I could hear him properly.

"Did you hear that?"

It wasn't time to joke around. He had heard it too.

"Ophanimon?" I said aloud.

There was no answer. Like mirror images, we both pulled out our cell phones. We saw it. The screens of our cell phones flashed Ophanimon's target symbol and I saw the symbol of Light appear on mine. As quickly as they had illuminated on our cell phones, they disappeared.

"We're not… dreaming, right?"

------

Thanks for reading! Reviews are highly appreciated!


	3. Episode 3: New Frontier

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. If I did, Izumi would've died in Frontier, and I would've ran off with Kouji and Kouichi myself… hahaha!!

I mean… I don't own Digimon and I would've properly told Frontier the way it was supposed to.

I also don't own the songs "Zips" by T.M. Revolution, "Daybreak's Bell" by L'arc en Ciel, and "Salamander" by Junko Takeuchi, nor was I the one who translated the songs into English.

-Updated-  
Ugh, had to update due to some complaint about this chapter. I don't see what was wrong with it. I pretty much softened Kouji's harshness (like where he wanted to get Takuya run over by a car and calling his friends retards). So hopefully this is more within his character range.  
This takes place 5 years after Frontier ends btw!

Chapter 3: New Frontier

April 1, 2006

(Kouji Minamoto's POV)

--- 7:28 AM Morning – Shibuya – Kouji Minamoto's house ---

Blaring sunlight burned my face and forced me out of my dreamworld. There were times when I just hated being light. I turned over in my bed, my body screaming for me to go back to sleep. The light was white hot, and I was still snuggled under my blankets, my body protesting against the heat. God. I sat up, my long navy blue hair all out of place. I tried to straighten it with my hands, but to no avail. I felt several knots in it. I groaned. I had definitely gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

I got up off my bed, wiping my bleary sleep-ridden eyes. I had stayed up late watching anime on the internet as usual. I slipped my sock covered feet into my slippers, and stretched. God. I felt my dark blue pajamas stick to my skin from sweat. The hell? I pulled at my tee and loosened it. What the hell had I been dreaming to get me so worked up in the middle of the night?

I pondered this as I headed for the bathroom on steady legs, even if my eyes were just barely open. As I exited my room, my ears caught the soft steps of someone coming up the stairs.

"Kouji, are you awake?" A soft, female voice called up.

"Ungh, yeah." I called down in a rough, I-just-woke-up voice. I kept walking and cleared my throat. "Hai, I'm awake." I said in a kinder voice.

I heard the steps walk back down the stairs. It was my stepmother, Satomi. After learning that my mother was still alive, I still somehow accepted Satomi to be my mother. But I knew the truth. She was just playing the role of my mother while I was in this house. My biological mother that was alive was my real mother no matter what. By blood… by heart. She was keeping my other half alive.

I stepped into the bathroom, flicking the light on. My eyes were getting used to the brightness and I looked up to see another person in front of me.

"Ichi-niisan?" I say absentmindedly. Oh, yeah, mirror, duh.

The sad part was that I actually did look like my twin brother, Kouichi, just with long hair. His hair is always out of place, kind of like that Harry Potter kid in that ridiculously overrated book from England. I grabbed the comb on the sink and instantly began running it through all the knots in my hair. I heard a few snaps here and there of my hair breaking as the knots loosened or broke off. After my hair wasn't as unkempt as it was earlier, I ran my hand over the comb's teeth and threw out the hair that was sticking to it. I took a hair tie from the small pile of them on the counter and pulled my hair back into a neat, high ponytail. Now I looked like myself. No bangs, just random strands of hair in front of my face.

Feeling kept, I brushed my teeth and headed downstairs for breakfast. I had taken my bath the night before, so I didn't need to take a shower. Thank you for wondering if I was unclean. I'm not, but my best friend, Takuya Kanbara, is. I'd rather not think of him so early in the morning. I plopped into a chair at the table in the kitchen. My breakfast had already been laid out before me. Eggs, bacon, and rice. Yummy. Yes, that's sarcasm.

Across the table, I saw my father sitting there with a newspaper. I glared at the front page for a while, waiting for him to recognize me. In the corner of my eye, I could see my stepmother cooking at the stove and preparing a bentou for me. A senior high school student still having his mother pack bentous for him. Embarrassment. Since my father was not even going to say 'ohayougozaimasu', I picked up my… fork and spoon. Great, I can't even have a traditional meal. Freaking turning European… or worse… American. I unwillingly use the fork and knife since I did not want to offend my stepmother by reaching for the chopsticks right in the middle of the table. I proceed to eat the breakfast laid out before me and drink the (thank God) tea in the mug next to my plate.

With the meal in my stomach, I noisily get up from my chair and took the bentou my stepmother handed to me. What was so interesting about that newspaper? I glared at the paper once more, noticing who was on the front page. That damn Touma Norenstein. Didn't he have better things to do than get all the damn paparazzi on him? I mean, he's an Austrian. How the hell did he get into a Japanese paper?

Whatever. Fine. Since my father wasn't aware of me, I stole back up to my room. Upon entering, I set the bentou on my desk. Then, I undressed down to my boxers and pulled on my school uniform hastily, not even caring to look nice. Hell, I didn't even tuck in my white under shirt and button up my jacket. I slipped the bentou into my briefcase school bag that sat in the chair at my desk. On top of my desk, I remembered what I had placed for me to see in the morning. The photo of Kouichi, myself… and our mother. I smiled softly, my heart melting at the sight. They were my weakness… I would do anything to protect them. Next to the photo was my white cell phone. I picked it up and hit the speed dial. I waited impatiently. One ring. Two rings. Three. Was he sleeping still? Halfway through the fourth ring, I heard the phone pick up.

"Moshimoshi?" The soft just-woke-up voice crackled through.

"Oniisan. I know you live on the other side of town, but if you continue to sleep this late, I _will_ get up even earlier to take the train there to wake you up personally." I said bluntly.

I heard the chuckle through the phone. "I'm awake now, otouto."

I smiled lightly, warmed by his kindness.

"Kouji, are you going to school or not?"

I frowned. I looked up and saw my father standing in my doorway. Great, just what I needed.

"Kouji-otouto?" Kouichi's voice came from over the phone.

"Yeah, you don't recognize me at the breakfast table, but you have the nerve to come up to my room and suggest that I get going." I said with a bit of a growl in my voice.

My father glared at me with the, "don't-use-that-tone-with-me" look. I turned away and put the cell phone up to my ear. I could hear Kouichi yawning. I wait for my father to turn and leave.

"Why couldn't you have gone to the same school as me, oniisan?" I breathed, releasing the held breath I kept in after my father left.

There was a moment of silence. "You know why I can't."

"Then I'll just go to your school…"

"Otouto, we already talked about this. I'll be fine."

I bit my lip when he said that. _It's not you I'm worried about. It's me._ But I couldn't tell him that.

"Listen. I'll head over to your school after school this first day, alright? Then you have to come to Odaiba to see me after school."

I sighed. He was just so nice a person. "Hai, wakarimasu."

"No you don't." I could see his cute little smirk in my mind.

"Yes, I do!" I made a sort of pouting face and I heard him laugh out loud. "Oy… Just go to school already."

"Okay, okay. Take care, Kouji-otouto."

I bit my lip. "You too, Kouichi-oniichan." I said.

There was a moment of silence as I was too embarrassed to say anything else and Kouichi took in the second, thinking about what I had just called him. Then I heard the other side of the phone hang up and a more dead silence filled the room. It was not often that I called Kouichi by the sweet "oniichan", so I could only guess at what he was thinking right now.

That aside, I put my cell phone into my pocket, pulled my white iPod off its charger which joined my cellphone. I put my white headphones around my neck and plugged the end into the iPod. I slowly made my way down the stairs so that my parents would not hear my steps. I listened intently, trying to find out where they were. I had made it to the landing in the middle of the stairs before it turned around to face the front door before I heard the shuffling. I pressed up against the wall away from the bottom steps so that I would be hidden.

"Satomi, I'm leaving now," I heard my father say.

"Matte, I'll walk with you to the end of the street."

The door opened, cool morning air rushing in and up the stairs. I shivered slightly, pulling my jacket around me tighter. The door closed and I knew that they had gone. I hoisted myself up on the rail of the lower set of stairs and slid down the hard wood, jumping off at the bottom. Don't ask. Ever since I was young, I loved doing it, no matter how many times my father said it was dangerous. Please, he had no idea what dangerous is, whereas I had to fight for lives while I was in the Digital World. The Digital World… My mind started to wander as I went over to the foyer of the house, sitting down and putting my shoes. That world was so different from ours… I longed to go back.

The real world definitely didn't want me to slip into any other kind of world, even a dreamworld, since my dog bounded over to me and attempted to lick my face. All eighty pounds of a black and brown German shepherd plopped right into my lap, his cold muzzle stuck in my face.

I growled and shoved him off. "Bad Ookami!" The dog whined and dropped his ears, his tail down. "Good grief," I sighed. "Just look after the house while I'm away, alright? I'll be home late." I scratched his head, just behind the ears, and his tail wagged happily. He barked, understanding what I had said.

"Shhh! I don't want okaasan knowing that I'm about to leave." I hissed at him. "Be a good dog for her."

Ookami kind of smiled in his canine way, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. He then pranced behind me. Damn, he was acting goofy this morning. I opened the door, peeking around to make sure that neither of my parents were in sight before sprinting to the wall and taking down the street. I slowed when I came to the main road, breathing heavily. Cars noisily sped by, and I saw that I was not the only student making their way to school. I saw several other teenagers dressed in the blue uniform, chatting to each other in small groups on the sidewalk. Had Kouichi and I talked that long?

"Oi!! Kouji!!!"

I winced and turned around to find a brunette running up to me, waving his hand. Takuya Kanbara. He too was in the blue uniform, but compared to me, his white shirt was tucked in, and he had square goggles dangling from around his neck. Some impression he was going to make on our first day.

"Kouji-baka. You shouldn't have ran so fast. I live just a few blocks away from you, so we could walk to school together." Takuya gasped out.

"You must be gay or something to want to walk _me_ to school." I said bluntly.

"KOUJI!" Takuya pouted.

I chuckled and slung my bag over my shoulder casually. I stick one of my headphones in my ear and reach into my pocket to turn my iPod on. "I thought you were going to walk Tomoki to school today?"

"Already did," Takuya responded. I was a bit stunned, but I tried not to show it. "I got up early and walked him to school, and made it back in time to catch you leaving."

He had somehow sensed my surprise. I guess it had to be due to the fact that he and I are best friends. Not like I'd ever say that though. I turned up my music to try and drown him and my surroundings out, concentrating on the grey pavement and the 'walk' and 'don't walk' streetlights.

_Nagasarerya yasashii kono machi mo_

_Yoku wo kakeba boi to suterareru_

_(If I just let if flow by, even in this quiet town_

_If I suppress my desire, I'll be cast aside as just a boy)_

I stood there, waiting for the blinking red 'don't walk' light to change. My eyes kind of drooped as I entered a kind of trance. The light then blinked white and a loud chirping sound pervaded over my music, signaling the pedestrians to walk. I made my way across the black pavement to more grey on the other side.

_Jibun hitori ga furitakunai to_

_Kawaku omoi uchikonde_

_(Alone, thirsty for the feelings that shoot through me_

_I don't want to spill them)_

I passed the flower shop that I visited five years ago on the day that Takuya, my brother, and I were swept into the Digital World. I kind of just glanced it over as I walked past, uninterested in it now. That day it reminded me of just haunted me. It was that same day that I had almost lost my brother…

_Tegowai yoru ni kimi ga honki de_

_Hajimeteru geemu wa nani?_

_(On this tough night, you're starting this game in earnest_

_But what game is it?)_

And just then, I could have sworn a disembodied voice play through my headphones. My eyes snapped open, alert.

"Mina… bara….moto…. Ta…. ji-kun... Your future… a game … has started… decide your future."

Was I hearing things? Sure, my song was saying, "But what game is it?", but that voice… I've heard it before. I looked around me. Takuya was staring at me confusedly as well. I reached up and pulled the earphone out of my ear so that I could hear him properly.

"Did you hear that?"

It wasn't time to joke around. He had heard it too.

"Ophanimon?" I said aloud.

There was no answer. Like mirror images, we both pulled out our cell phones. We saw it. The screens of our cell phones flashed Ophanimon's target symbol and I saw the symbol of Light appear on mine. As quickly as they had illuminated on our cell phones, they disappeared.

"We're not… dreaming, right?"

Well, Takuya's voice surely broke the moment. I flipped my cell phone closed and grab his arm. I pinched him. Hard.

"ITAI!!! KOUJI!!"

I sighed and stuffed my cell phone back into my pocket and coolly walked across the next intersection before the light turned red.

"MATTE!!"

I stopped on the other side of the intersection and looked back. A car passed between Takuya and me, and I waited until it had left and it was safe for Takuya to catch up. He hit me in the shoulder with a fist in a playing manner. I smiled lightly and continued on the walk to school, Takuya beside me. I put my headphones back on and resumed listening to Zips by T.M. Revolution.

I ran the possibilities of Ophanimon-sama coming back in contact with us through my mind. The gate had been closed. There was no way she could get back to us again. Or was there…? I recalled the flower shop. It was the same place that I had received the message about five years ago. And it wasn't more than a few blocks away from Shibuya train station. The same station that Takuya and I had ridden in a Trailmon to the Digital World… and Kouichi fell down the stairs…

I shook my head. I couldn't think about those times any more. I shouldn't. I had to protect my brother from the Darkness. I had my responsibility. I didn't want it happening again.

Upon arriving at Shibuya Senior High, I stood with Takuya outside the front gate to wait on Izumi and Junpei. Izumi "Zoe" Orimoto would be beginning her first year of senior high school with Takuya and me at Shibuya Senior High. Junpei "J.P." Shibayama was our sempai, since he was one year older than us. I closed my eyes, my arms crossed over my chest, and my back leaning against the cold stone of the front wall beside the gate. Another song started up on my iPod… and I felt my heart cringe as I recognized the familiar beat and beautiful piano piece.

"Nee konna katachi no deai shika nakatta no? Kanashii ne… Anata ni shindemo ayamete hoshiku mo nai onegai…"

_(Hey, must we have met in such a way? How sad it is… Even if I have to die instead, I don't want you to have to kill… so, please)_

I turned my music up so that I was deaf to the world. I wondered what my brother could be doing right now.

"Unmei sae nomikomade shizumisouna umi e to… Negai yo kaze ni notte yoake no kane wo narase yo…"

_(Swallowed by fate, I feel as if I'm drowning in a fathomless sea… Ride the wind, oh wish of mine, and sound daybreak's bell)_

If anything, Kouichi was probably still in bed despite my call. I hated being separated from him like this. We had been separated our entire lives until fate intervened and brought us together. Thank you Digital World.

"Tori no you ni My wishes over their airspace… Musuu no nami wo koe… Asu en tachimukau anata wo… Mamoritamae…"

_(Just like a bird... My wishes over their airspace bird… I want it to cross boundless oceans. To protect you, who will stand up and confront the tomorrow that awaits…)_

I wished that I was beside him. We had spent junior high together after the Digital World, but then when we had to go to senior high, he moved away since our mother had to find a new job to sustain the both of them and a cheaper apartment. At least when we were in junior high, I could protect him… but now he's on the other side of town…

"My life I trade in for your pain…"

_(As she faces tomorrow, my life I trade in for your pain…)_

I felt a few people approaching. Not going past us, but rather walking up to us. I knew it had to be Izumi and Junpei. I fingered my iPod and lowered the volume to hear the voices.

"He's singing again isn't he?" Junpei.

"I knew we should have come earlier, he stopped. He knows we're here." Izumi.

"You actually like his singing?" Takuya.

"Better than yours, off-key." Izumi spat back.

"Oh comeon… Salamander ga sakebu kobushi de moeru honoo _(The salamander shouts, the burning flame in my fist) _-- Itai!" Takuya was off-key singing before he was slapped in the back of the head by Izumi.

I tried my best not to smile, but I'm sure they noticed. I wondered if my brother and I were the only sane people in the group sometimes since everyone else just acted so silly. But friends were friends, we trusted one another.

"Ohayou Kouji-kun!" Izumi twirled in front of me. It probably would have made other boys nosebleed, since I'm pretty sure I got a flash of lavender panties when her skirt flew up. "What do you think? Cute, ne?"

I shrugged. I didn't really care. I wasn't really into girls, more or less girls trying to look pretty in front of me.

"Yeah, I thought it was kind of bland too." And she goes and changes her original opinion.

I narrowed my eyes and looked away. I liked her better in the Digital World. At least there she was a loner like I was. But now… She's one of the most popular girls I've met. At our last school, she was constantly followed by a bunch of fanguys, always trying to ask her out. Least she was sane enough to turn those dumbasses down.

In the corner of my eye, I saw a drop of blood drip from Junpei's nose. He felt this and quickly pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped it away. The heavy set boy blushed. He was one of those kinds of guys that liked Izumi's panty shot. Thankfully, Takuya was still standing there, totally oblivious to what Izumi was attempting to accomplish.

"I think it looks nice on you…" Takuya actually complimented.

Izumi lightly rolled her eyes. "Thanks, I guess."

Yeah, that pretty much concluded that she was attempting to hit on me, as she had not entirely appreciated the comment from Takuya. Junpei cursed under his breath that Takuya had beaten him to complimenting her. He was acting like there were no other girls to choose from.

Though, in all honesty, I thought she did look pretty. Don't tell her I said that.

"Hey, did you guys hear?" Junpei started, putting his voice into one of those 'I've-got-information-you-want-to-know' voices.

Takuya, like the little kid on the inside he is, turned to Junpei. "What?"

"Well… I heard that Ken Ichijouji applied for school here… And he'll be in the same grade as us." Junpei finished.

Takuya's eyes bugged out. "Ken? Ken Ichijouji?? The Rocket??"

I groaned. Ken Ichijouji, the ultimate bishounen for girls in our grade level. I remember two years ago when the girls were screaming their lungs out over the boy genius. Please, he couldn't be anything that special. I turned my music back on and attempt to ignore the group, to no avail of course.

Izumi looked at them innocently. "What's so great about him? Is he famous or something?"

Junpei nearly faceplanted. "He's just one of the greatest prodigies to ever have been born in Japan!"

"And he's an all-time famous soccer player in his schools!" Takuya added.

I snorted. "Last I heard, he became a real boy." I said dryly.

Izumi nodded. "Yeah, if he's not big still, then I'm sure that he's not that great anymore."

"Maybe he's just on low profile right now. He lives in Tamachi. I wonder why he'd come all the way to Shibuya for school?" Takuya mused.

Junpei answered him. "I think the latest news was that he's moving. I didn't figure out where though. I'd like to meet him though, learn some more about those computer skills of his."

I sighed. As if on cue, a bunch of screaming girls ran by when boy had stepped out of a car. His chin length indigo hair covered his face as he bowed and thanked his father for driving him to school. When he stood back up, we caught a glimpse of the boy's handsome face before he was swarmed by girls. After a moment or two, the boy broke away from the fangirls.

"He's… really here…" Junpei whispered.

Izumi was drooling a bit, Takuya in awe to be in the star's presence. I kept leaning up against the wall and shut my eyes. Just what we needed. Another hot guy for all the girls to drool over and make Izumi even more of a ditz. Wait. I opened my eyes and Ken was staring right at me. Quickly realizing that I noticed him staring, he swept his eyes over the other three and moved on.

_Well, this'll be an interesting year,_ I thought.

--- 11:48 AM Lunch period – Shibuya Senior High – Stairs to roof---

I headed up to the roof of the school, following Takuya, Izumi, and Junpei while listening to my music on my headphones. The roof was entirely deserted when we got there. Thank God, I needed to get away from that stuffy classroom. The breeze blew back my long hair and I closed my eyes. I wondered if Kouichi found his way to the roof as well. It would've made me felt closer to him, though we were across town. I felt for my cell phone in my pocket.

"Oi! Kouji! Stop standing over there and sit down!"

I opened my eyes. Takuya. Annoying bugger. I could still hear him past my music. But he was right. My mind had wandered off the instant we stepped upon the roof. I headed towards him, quickly cutting in front of a girl who was making her way up to the roof as well.

"Hey, watch it!" the girl yelled.

I looked at her and pulled my headphones out of my ears. I attempt to apologize. "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Yeah, well, you would've noticed if you weren't walking around with those earplugs, Ponytail!" the girl retorted.

I was quiet for a moment. Then, I put my headphones back into my ears and walked away, not wanting to deal with her crap.

"Look at me when I'm yelling at you, Ponytail!" Geez, I could still hear her too. I must need new headphones.

I plopped down near the metal fence that kept people from falling off the roof and stared off into the city from behind metal rails. I pulled my cell phone out and turned it over and over in my right hand.

Just then, my left earphone was pulled out of my ear. "Call him already, damnit."

I jumped up about one foot, surprised. Oh. Duh. It was only Takuya. He then plopped down beside Izumi and busily ate his bentou. My mind was on everything else but food. I felt a speck of rice land on my cheek. I growled.

"Call him you jerk." Takuya again.

I flicked the rice off me and opened my cell phone. "What if he's not at lunch?"

Takuya stayed silent for a full minute before getting up. He pried the cell phone from my hands and punched in Kouichi's number. I made a lunge for him, angry.

"Oi! Kouichi!" I froze, watching Takuya talk. "Yeah. It's Takuya. You busy? Lunch? Awesome. Your otouto wants to talk." He then flashed the victory symbol at me and tossed me my cell phone. I had to get him back for this. I catch the phone and hesitantly put it up to my ear.

"Hey, Kouichi." I glare daggers at Takuya before turning around.

"Hey otouto." I hear my twin chirp from the other end. "How's school so far?"

I shrugged a little. "Same old. Pretty much no different than junior high." my eyes dart right, seeing a small group playing cards on top of the roof. I could see Ken Ichijouji escaping the fangirls below me. "And one really smart and popular guy."

My brother chuckled. "I see. It's not too different here."

There was a pause as we tried to find something to talk about.

"Kouji. Listen."

My ears perked up. Not literally, but something about my brother's tone caught my interest.

"I ran into someone that… felt like you."

I blinked. "How so?"

"I don't know. It's like she had this bright aura all around her. Just like you."

"I do not have a bright aura." I paused, deciding not to argue. "So, what does this mean?

"I'm not sure."

I sighed and sat with my back against the metal fence, facing my friends on the roof. I saw Takuya mouth to me, "tell him". I shook my head and he stared at me sternly. God. I mouth back to him that I don't want to worry my brother. Then, I saw Takuya holding an onigiri. Oh… hell… was he? He raised it over his shoulder, preparing to throw.

"Fuck you too." I spat out.

"What was that?" Kouichi said over the phone.

"Shit."

"Kouji!"

I groaned. I was trapped now, between getting in trouble with my brother for cursing and Takuya threatening to hit me with his rice ball. I looked away from the latter threat.

"Sorry oniisan." I said. "That was directed at Takuya."

"You didn't have to curse." Kouichi said in a voice as blunt as mine usually was.

"Gomen, oniisan." I sighed.

"What's got you so worked up?"

I took a deep breath. "I think I heard Ophanimon. Well, it wasn't just me. Takuya swears he heard it too." Kouichi was silent. I knew what he was thinking. "It might be related to why Duskmon is suddenly reappearing to you." I said in a low voice that only he heard.

"Possibly." Kouichi was becoming less and less talkative. "Listen, lunch is almost over. I'll see you in a few hours, okay otouto?"

I but my lip. "Oniisan… Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I know, Kouji, I know." I heard him say before he hung up.

I put my cell phone back in my pocket. This was going to be a long afternoon class.

--- 2:30 PM Afternoon – Shibuya Senior High – Outside front gate ---

Classes were finally over. Thank _god._ It felt like forever. But then, my waiting wasn't over yet. I had to wait for Kouichi to arrive at my school. And with the other schools being dismissed all over the city, the trains were bound to be decently packed. I stood outside the gate, listening to my iPod. Takuya and the rest were hanging out nearby, chatting to each other. I _really_ didn't feel like talking to them. But… thirty minutes or so of waiting? I could watch an anime in that time, but my iPod was just one of those Nanos. I threatened otousan to get me one of those video ones, but he refused. So all I could do was either talk nonsense with Takuya and my friends, or stand there with my iPod. I chose to just listen to my music.

I closed my eyes and kind of dozed, standing up. I was still conscious really, but I was letting my eyes and brain rest, letting my brain drift away on the piano melody in "Daybreak's Bell". Some reason I couldn't stop listening to this song after I first heard it. Maybe it made me think about Kouichi and my wish to protect him. I felt my heart twist every time I thought of the events five years ago. I guess I had never really recovered in a way. It was just so scary, seeing him laying there in that hospital bed.

"Kouji-kun?"

I hit pause on my music and saw Izumi standing next to me, her hand on my shoulder. I saw how concerned she was in her eyes and I looked away.

"Nandayo?" I said gruffly, hoping that she would buzz off.

She didn't look offended at all for using a rude way to ask her what she wanted. She instead turned and rested her back against the concrete wall beside me.

"You look like you have something on your mind." She said quietly.

"Hn." I didn't want to yet also wanted to tell her what I was thinking. "Nandemonai."

"You sound like your brother when you say that. Trying not to let other people worry about you."

Oh. That comment struck me where it hurt. Not that it hurt me or my pride, it just hurt because she brought up Kouichi. I guess I must have made a face since she gave a small smile.

"It's Kouichi, isn't it?"

Was I that easy to read? She looked up at the sky and a small breeze blew down the street. I turned my head slightly to look at her in the corner of my eye. She really was pretty in her own way. And to be noticing me here still…

"You shouldn't worry about him too much. You both made it through almost twelve years of not knowing each other…"

I looked away. When she put it that way, it made me feel like I never should've met Kouichi in the first place. But if I hadn't, I wouldn't have changed this much. Since I did, I recognized this intense pain of separation. It was a no-win situation, and I was hating it.

There had been silence between us again. Izumi glanced at her watch. "Fifteen more minutes."

I inwardly groaned. Fifteen more minutes next to a girl who I secretly liked and yet was reminding me of why I pained in the first place? Wait, I liked her? God, get your mind out of the gutter, Kouji. I reached back into my pocket and turned my iPod on to preoccupy myself with some more songs. I closed my eyes and counted. It would be about four to five songs if each song were about five minutes long.

After calculating that, the time flew by since I tried to lose myself in the songs. I knew I was softly singing them under my breath again, and next to Izumi, no less. I could still feel her presence beside me. She must have been trying to comfort me. I was on near the end of the third song when something managed to be louder than my music. I abruptly pulled my headphones out of my ears and opened my eyes.

Not too far away, some girls were crowding around that Ken Ichijouji boy. I growled deep in my throat. I knew it was not my problem, but girls like that just disgust me. Izumi put a hand on my arm, but I shook her off. I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked over to the pile of girls on their precious "Ken-kun". Oh, they were definitely not getting away without me saying something.

"Get the hell out of here." I said sternly. There was a moment of silence as they gawked at me like deer caught in the headlights. "Yeah, I'm talking to you girls. Get. The. Hell. Out."

I tried to be as intimidating as I could. Over the past five years, my heart gave way to kindness, but I was still trying to hold onto my tough exterior so that I could fend off jerks like this. They finally got the idea before leaving. I caught a few mutters of cursing under their breath. I felt satisfied and relaxed a bit, smirking.

My smirk disappeared instantly when I felt a hand gently rest on my right shoulder. I turned around to concerned eyes staring into mine. Eyes that were identical to mine. Oh. God. I made him worry, didn't I?

"Otouto…"  
For a good few seconds, we stared at each other, mentally conversing. Not really telepathy, but I could feel his emotions without really trying or saying anything, and he the same. I tried to stay tough, but with him looking at me like that, I couldn't help but melt. To avoid eyes from seeing me crumble, I start walking away, Kouichi quickly following behind me in step. Takuya, Junpei, and Izumi followed silently as well. It wasn't more than a block away that one of us brought the courage to talk.

"Kouji. He came again."

I stopped. That was my brother's voice. I could sense the hint of fear in it. I turned to him, eyes wide and fierce, like a hawk. I grabbed him by the shoulders, my gaze sweeping over him, trying to see if he had been injured in any way. I opened my mouth to ask, but Kouichi quickly cut in.

"I'm… fine."

I sighed deeply and let him go. "Oniichan.." I said under my breath, that only he would hear me.

"It was different this time, otouto."

"Fuck." The English curse word slipped out of my mouth without me thinking. I bit my lip and waited for him to continue.

"He wasn't in my dreams this time."

I closed my eyes, painfully accepting the truth. The truth was… What could we do? We had no contact with the Digital World and Ophanimon anymore. Or Plotmon. Whatever. Fact was, the gate was closed, we had no way of going back. We had no access to the Spirits. What could we do versus Duskmon? If he did show up… I looked around nervously. I wasn't calm. I tried to keep my cool the best I could, but inside I was panicking.

Hands gripped my arms firmly. I froze and looked at my twin. He stared back into my eyes. I wanted to cry and hold him. It felt like five years ago all over again when he was laying there on that hospital bed. I called out to him, scared that he wouldn't hear my voice. Scared that he wouldn't come back.

"Kouji-otouto."

Oh please be real. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my unsteady heart.

"I'm still here."

I was just shattered. I tried to pick up the pieces, but it felt futile. It felt like the world was collapsing around me, and I was powerless to do anything.

"Duskmon, huh?"

I opened my eyes. Takuya walked up to us. Oh. Hell. I looked around and realized we were standing on the sidewalk. How long had we been standing there, being all sentimental? I pushed my brother's warm, comforting hands away and pulled my jacket tight around me, trying to feel secure. That was a lie. The second I brushed my brother off, I felt naked to the world.

"Don't worry. If Duskmon's back, maybe our Spirits will come back!" Takuya chirped happily.

I tried to smile. I really did. Takuya was grinning happily, no doubt excited to see his other again to talk about the past five years. Izumi and Junpei kind of looked happy back there as well. We had left the Digital World so fast that good-byes to that world were practically nonexistent. I was still worried though, even with Takuya's shining optimism. And I thought I was supposed to be Light.

"How are we going to get our Spirits though?" I said, bluntly. "The Gate's closed off."

"Unmei." Takuya said simply.

"Unmei." I stared at him. Hell. Did he have that much faith in destiny?

There was a bit of silence since no one had any idea on what to say. Takuya grinned widely. Oh hell, I didn't like that grin. I took a step back and turned away. We walked a while, and I felt Takuya creeping up on me. If he got any closer to me, I swore I was gunna beat him down to a pulp.

"Dude, you know you gotta strip to Spirit Evolve!" Takuya tugged at my shirt.

"Oh my god, I swear you're gay, Takuya!!" I yelled at him, throwing him off.

He just laughed and ran off. "I'm gunna go walk Tomoki back to his house. Ja ne!" He disappeared around a corner of a building, taking down that street toward the middle school. I sighed and shook my head. I glanced back at everyone else.

"I've got to go help Papa at his restaurant." Izumi said. "Take care of yourselves, okay?" She then headed down another street, giving us a small wave before disappearing into the crowd.

"I'm going to meet up with some friends." Junpei said. "They're begging to see my magic, though I've kinda given up on that hobby."

"Later then." Kouichi said quietly.

I couldn't tell if that was fear in his voice though. Junpei walked off towards a park. I couldn't blame my brother if he was scared. He and I were alone now on the bustling sidewalks of Sibuya. I looked at my twin, wondering what to do now.

"I'll walk you home, otouto." He said, knowing that I was awaiting a response.

Wait. "Don't you have to go back…? I mean, you need to take the train back… I'll walk you to the station instead--" I started.

Kouichi shook his head. "It's fine. He doesn't come more than once a day." He walked past me in the direction of my house.

I followed him. "Do you really believe in what Takuya said?" I asked him after a moment.

Kouichi was silent for a few minutes. I guess he was trying to find the right words to say.

"I can't say that I do. But…" He turned slightly to smile warmly at me. "… if it was destiny that brought us together in the Digital World, we shouldn't rule it out."

I looked away from him. Damn him. He was right, and I couldn't argue any more. I guess this was the fate of being the younger one. Somehow Kouichi was so much wiser than me, but I was so much stronger. Or was I? I didn't even know how we were really twins when we were total opposites.

We walked the rest of the way to my house in an uncomfortable yet uneventful silence.

--- 2:52 PM Afternoon – Kouji's Bedroom ---

I flopped down onto my bed. I winced as my ponytail pressed into the back of my head. I turned over and reach back to pull it out, my long navy hair cascading down without any restriction now. I toss the tie away and just lay there, thinking. Or worrying.

My brother had just left a few minutes ago so he could get back home as early as possible before the afternoon rush of people flood the trains. I had homework, but I didn't feel compelled to do it. I just lay there, staring at the blank wall. I closed my eyes, hoping my brother was still safe. Why couldn't I just go with him on the train and then I would endure the rush back home? Stupid stupid stupid. What kind of brother was I being?

I mentally hit myself for several minutes, alone in my room, alone in the darkness of my own mind. I felt a cool breeze pass over me and I reached down to try and pull the covers over me… and felt wet grass and soil under my fingertips. What?

I sat up, opening my eyes, muscles tensing. I was suddenly not in my bed. When had this happen? I was lying down in grass under shady tall trees. I squinted my eyes and saw light purples, pinks, and blues past some of the leaves. It came off a tall crystal-like building. My eyes widened in astonishment. No way.

"Kouji."

There were no footsteps, so I turned to the familiar voice quickly. The creature was standing over me already, looking down at me with red eyes behind his white metal wolf mask. His blue slashed on white colored scarf extended all the way down to the ground. It was human-like in appearance and wore a tight bodysuit, with various area covered also by armor, like his lower arms and chest. I had to be dreaming, I just had to be.

"Kouji. We need you again."

----

Japanese Vocabulary:

hai - yes

(o)niisan/(o)niichan - older brother (the 'chan' use is cuter and more familiar I think)

otouto - younger/little brother

bentou - (box) lunch

ohayou (gozaimasu) - good morning

wakarimasu - I understand

matte - wait

ookami - wolf (that's just the name Kouji gave his dog)

ooi - hey!

itai - ow!/that hurt!

ne - "isn't it?"/"huh?"

('ne' is an uptalk word like how English has y'know and Canadian French has "ja", so there's no exact definition on it)

bishounen - pretty boy

nandayo - what is it? (little rude context)

nandemonai - it's nothing

unmei - fate/destiny

Author's Notes

Met the easily deadline this time. This was the reason why I was taking so long on the Tamers chapter. I went and started writing this chapter first and I was almost done when I realized that I was barely started on the Tamers chapter!

Anyways, no revision for this chapter, hopefully. Love my Frontier group.

Updates/Revisions

Chapter 1 and 2 have been revised slightly. More serious of the two slight revisions would be that I'm including the area along with time of day. The lesser one would probably just be random grammatical changes just to make the story flow smoothly.

Chapter 4 Release Date: 11/22 most likely (give or take a few days since Thanksgiving is coming up and my brother is coming home on 11/10)

----

Extras!

My fanart of Kouji Minamoto, exclusively made for this chapter—ok, not really.

http:// tpm-vaporeone. deviantart. com/ art/ Kouji-Neo-Spirit-Execute-67815074

Just remove the spaces. It's safe. If you can't get to it, use the homepage link in my profile to my Deviantart account.

Kouji and Kouichi music video!

http:// www. youtube. com/ watch?v TJXZgtHgf7k

Again, remove the spaces, and it's safe, it's on YouTube.

And just like last chapter… a sneak peek to chapter 4! Which… is barely written.

Episode 4: New Savers

(Satsuma Retarou's POV)

"Satsuma." Yamaki's concerned voice came over the phone. "You're not harming them, are you?"

"No, of course not. But if they have been involved with Digimon before, they must be closely observed." I said. "I know you have relations to those children, and I highly suggest that you do not interfere." There was silence over at Yamaki's end.

"I'll leave it to you then." He finally said after a minute of silence.

The phone clicked, indicating he had hung up, before I had managed to say anything. I turned my attention back to the monitors and pressed the earpiece firmly into my ear canal, awaiting the report from Shirakawa and Kurokawa. I could see their video on screen. Kurokawa was following Takato, who Yamaki knew personally, to Shibuya Senior High. Shirakawa was inspecting Odaiba Senior High, where the sister of a new candidate, Taichi Yagami, attends.

Yoshino Jujieda's voice came through my earpiece. "Retaru-sama. I am monitoring the United States's data signatures via satellite. There is no movement, but the signatures are still strong."

----

Thanks for reading! And comments are HIGHLY appreciated!! I know who's watching my story, and you haven't commented on it at all! I want some feedback please, if that's not so much to ask.


	4. Episode 4: New Savers

Author's Notes:

Sorry it took so long! Woo…

I promised it around Thanksgiving but—okay I'm sure you don't want to hear my lame excuses.  
GOOD news is that the story is back up and running.

I cannot guarantee when I will update next… so just bear with me.

Oh, note, the times in this chapter are slightly different than in the prior three chapters.

The times are subject to change because one of my friends is doing research for me on Japan's schooling, so just go by what's being described in the chapter at the moment.

And the three prior chapters are subject to even more editing come next week. I just need to change some minor details and such.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the new installment of Digimon: All Stars!

Episode 4: New Savers

April 1, 2006

-- 8:35 AM Morning – Odaiba DATS headquarters, Odaiba --

(Satsuma Rentarou's POV)

"Ohayougozaimasu!"

I watched from behind dark sunglasses as the cheerful deep red-haired Yoshino Fujieda skipped into the police office. She was dressed in her police uniform consisting of a white collared shirt, blue tie, a blue skirt, and a blue hat clutched close to her breast.

"Come here quick!" the blonde Megumi Shirakawa called from where she sat on one of the desks in the corner of the office, motioning Yoshino to come over with her hand.

"What's up?" Yoshino asked, looking over the shoulder of the third woman in the room, the purple haired Miki Kurosaki.

"Touma just won the Nobel Prize in Medicine!" Kurosaki said in astonishment.

The three ladies stared at the paper, gasping in awe, remembering how five years ago he had helped save the world alongside them. He was so young then, only 14 years old and yet a stunning genius; an indispensable member of the DATS force. The women observed that his appearance hadn't changed much since then, standing beside his healthy younger sister in the newspaper's photo. They themselves had not changed much either, aside from Fujieda's longer hair.

I raised a closed hand to my mouth and coughed to get their attention. Fujieda, Shirakawa, and Kurosaki looked up in surprise. Fujieda acted first, smiling and walking quickly for the door.

"I'm going out on patrol!" she cheerily announced.

I smiled slightly, watching her leave the office. My eyes then returned to the manila folders laid out before me, and thumbed through the files. The tabs of the folders were marked with the names, "Matsuda, Takato", "Yagami, Taichi", "Motomiya, Daisuke", and "Akiyama, Ryo". I lifted Yagami's folder out of the group and inspected the papers within. A photo of the young man and his bush of brown hair atop his head and dressed in a green school uniform was paperclipped to an information sheet revealing his name, blood type, age, family, schools attended, and record. Most importantly, there were several papers stapled to that sheet regarding his Digimon encounters.

I placed the papers back in the folder. I had read the profile several times through in the past few days and could not stand to look upon it any longer. Standing up, I felt Shirakawa's and Kurosaki's eyes cast upon my figure. They had long put down the newspaper and awaited orders from me. I shifted my gaze in their direction.

"Kurosaki-san, you will go to Shibuya Senior High, and Shirakawa-san, will go to Shibuya Junior High. Both of you are to observe the students at the school as well as pinpoint any Traces." I instructed.

"Yes sir!" both remaining women chirped.

Shirakawa hopped off the desk energetically, her short blonde hair bouncing above her shoulders. Kurosaki stood up, placing the newspaper neatly on her desk, stepping away, and pushing the chair under. Shirakawa grabbed Kurosaki by the wrist and dragged the other woman in tow towards the door, leaving quickly.

I watched them with concerned eyes, hoping that no harm were to come to them in the following days while observing the sites. I shook my head and exited the office to the elevator area. I pressed the white up arrow, the elevator immediately dinging. The doors slid open and I entered. I became boxed him in a moment after pressing the button for the 5th floor. I held my hands behind my back, contemplating.

The fact of the matter was that two to three years ago, Digimon incidents started occurring again. Five years ago, DATs had converted from the Digital Accident Tactics Squad to a simple law enforcement center. The incidents were not anything serious, just a few stores destroyed from the rampaging Digimon or injuries from random gangs in the backstreets of the city, but not so easy to cover up, despite the Digimon seemingly to disappear back into the Digital World. The government took interest and started funding us money to begin researching again. That did not compensate for one thing though. Compared to before when each member of DATs had a Digimon, only one of the DATs officers currently had a Digimon capable of fighting. Aside from that, he doubled as our head investigator.

The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened with a hiss. The only capable fighter and most knowledgeable member of DATs sat at a computer console, typing away on the keyboard, pulling up records of Digimon and playing back captured video of battles. He sat back after a moment, running a hand through his short red hair. He was dressed casually, compared to Kurosaki, Shirakawa, Fujieda, or myself. He had an orange t-shirt with dark green shorts. His red beetle Digimon buzzed next to him and turned its sphere shaped head in my direction, two large, green compound eyes focusing themselves on my figure.

"Izzy, Rentarou-san's here." The back-pack sized bug poked the young man with one of its claws.

"Huh?" The young man snapped alert and looked right at me. He stood up and bowed slightly. "Gomen, taichou."

"It's alright." I said and waved my hand. "Izumi-san, have you found anything out yet?" I addressed him properly by his family name.

Izumi turned back to the computer. "Not much to say really… Mostly just review over the previous battles and such…"

"And the Digital Tracers?" I questioned.

"That… is a different story." Izumi sat down and typed on the keyboard, pulling up the information. "There's remnants of traces in several places… Mostly concentrated here in Tokyo, but I have found several in other countries. There seems to be some traces lingering in the states of California, Virginia, and Florida in the United States… More in the United Kingdom… Austria… and several other modern, industrial countries. Digimon sightings are confirmed in the United States and Europe for sure due to the proof from the news…"

"The traces in Tokyo. Are they where we suspect them to be?"

Izumi nodded. "Yes. Odaiba Senior High and Shibuya Junior and Senior High. We'll have more information as soon as Kurosaki-san, Shirokawa-san, and Fujieda-san arrive at their patrol locations. "

"What about the other possible recruits?"

Izumi did not look at me. I knew he was hiding something. The recruits were his peers, and we both knew it. He inhaled, glancing at his Digimon, and then replied to me.

"You can talk to them, but I cannot guarantee their agreement to cooperate, taichou."

I nodded in understanding. Most of his peers were going on to higher education and trying to live their lives past what had happened with the Digimon, yet here he was to continue research on the Digital World. Such devotion… Much like what the other DATs members had…

"Rentarou-sama. Rentarou-sama. Izumi-san. Come in." A voice crackled over the speakers.

I picked up a wireless communicator from the desk Izumi sat at and pushed it into my ear. "I hear you Kurosaki-san. Have you arrived at your destination?"

"Hai, Rentarou-sama."

I pressed a button on the keyboard in front of Izumi. "Shirokawa-san, have you arrived?"

"ETA in two minutes." Shirokawa answered. I nodded. Right on schedule.

I pressed the button again. "Fujieda-san. Have you arrived at Odaiba Senior High?"

"Gomen, Rentarou-sama!" Yoshino Fujieda's voice came through the earpiece. "I got caught up with a man who wasn't wearing his helmet while on a motorcycle. I'm on my way now."

I sighed, and I saw Izumi smile slightly in the corner of my eye, apparently amused by Fujieda's law enforcement. I took a seat at my usual command desk, awaiting any unusual reports from the three DATs members in the field. The clock ticked past 9 AM. School would begin in just about ten minutes across the city. I wondered if there would be any activity as I sat there, wondering why the Digimon were coming through again.

There were a few beeps and Izumi's typing. He turned to me. "Incoming call from Mitsuo Yamaki."

I hesitated before answering. "Patch him through."

Izumi pressed a button and I heard a bit of static on my earpiece before the man on the other end began talking.

"Rentarou." Mitsuo Yamaki's concerned voice came through. "Are you starting?"

"Hai, Mitsuo. Kurosaki, Kurokawa, and Fujieda are all in their patrol routes, and the children in question are under observation."

"You're not going to harm them, are you?"

"No, of course not. But since they have been involved with Digimon before, they must be closely observed." I said. "I know you have relations to those children, and I highly suggest that you do not interfere." There was silence over at Mitsuo's end.

"I'll leave it to you then." He finally said after a minute.

The earpiece clicked, indicating he had hung up before I had managed to say anything further. I turned my attention to the three monitors that Izumi pulled up during the call. The monitors displayed a visual from a camera in the DATs officers cars. I patiently awaited the report from the three women.

Kurosaki's video showed the Matsuki teen from the profile I had, whom Yamaki knew personally, at Shibuya Senior High. He was being closely followed by Akiyama, with three other males and two females that I recognized profiles of that were associated with the two. There was a group of teens standing just outside of the gate of the school. I caught sight of a male with navy hair, listening to music, before a car pulled up in front, obscuring my view of him. From the car emerged another navy-haired male; his hair cut short to just under his chin. I remembered seeing him before… Ken Ichijouji.

Shirakawa's was similar, just with younger students. I glimpsed a boy with a cap worn backwards and a girl with purple hair tied up in pigtails. The latter I could guess was Li Shaochung, the younger sister of Li Jenrya, one of the boys with Matsuki. There was also Ai and Makoto, twin siblings, one male and one female, two more who Yamaki was connected to through the D-Reaper incedent.

Fujieda's camera finally flickered on at Odaiba Senior High. I spotted the younger sister of candidate Yagami instantly. There was a young man with blonde hair and a canvas cap on, walking alongside her. Another girl on the grounds waved for their attention. The two turned towards their peer and headed inside the school building.

Nothing out of the usual. Just a normal first day of school.

"Any traces?" I spoke to the three on patrol. One by one they would answer.

Shirakawa was the first to speak. "Shibuya Junior High. I have recorded the attendance of Li Shaochung, Ai, and Makoto. There is evidence of a very faint Digital Trace, but any others outside the listed three cannot be pinpointed."

"Kurosaki here at Shibuya Senior High. Currently observing Matsuki Takato, Makino Ruki, Li Jenrya, Akiyama Ryo, Kauto Juri, Shioda Hirokazu, and Kitagawa Kenta. They appear to have faint Digital Traces. I am scanning for further Digital Trace now." She halts her report for a moment. "There are three strong Digital Traces in the area, pinpointing… Sending images of the students now. There is nothing further to report."

On the monitor appeared the three photos of the students. There was a boy with long dark blue hair in a ponytail, the one I had seen listening to music. The other two were also male, one with disheveled brown hair and goggles around his neck, and the other was Ichijouji Ken.

"Izumi, add these three to the priority list. Get the profile of Ichijouji, Ken, and find out who are the other two. Fujieda, your report now, please."

"Fujieda Yoshino reporting from Odaiba Senior High. Observation of Yagami Hikari, younger sister of candidate Yagami Taichi. There are three strong Digital Traces other than hers. Sending images now of two more possible candidates. It seems that the third is inside the building and I cannot accurately determine his or her location." She paused and a blur went past the screen. There was a student that ran past the camera. "Gomen, candidate Motomiya Daisuke has arrived at Odaiba Senior High. That is the end of the report."

The image of the young man accompanying Yagami and the young woman waving appeared. I saw in the corner of my eye Izumi biting his lip. He knew these students. I did not want him to put his friends in danger, but I knew I had to include them in the observation list.

"Add these two on the priority list, Izumi; get their profile."

I saw Izumi's hands pause over the keyboard before he nodded his head in silence. It was going to be a long day for him.

-- 3:25 PM Afternoon – Daimon Residence --

"Konnichiwa, Sayuri-san." I smiled to the beautiful young female brunette who opened the door.

"Konnichiwa, Satsuma-san." Sayuri welcomed me warmly. "Come in. Would you like something to eat? Suguru and I were about to sit down for a snack."

I shook my head. "Tea would be fine, thank you."

Sayuri nodded and closed the door behind me as I stepped in. I slipped out of my shoes and entered the den, Sayuri parting ways with me for the kitchen. I entered the den, where Suguru Daimon was sitting on the couch watching television. I sat across from him on the other couch.

"Konnichiwa, Satsuma-taichou." Daimon greeted me. "Any news yet?"

I was quiet for a moment. I knew what he was referring to. Since Masaru went to the Digital World, we had not heard back from him. That was five years ago.

"Gomen. We still have not been able to successfully open the Digital Gate again." I sadly replied.

Sayuri came in with a tray of tea and sandwiches, placing them on the table between us. She generously poured tea for the three of us. Silence stretched before us, save for the news reporters on the television.

"Tomorrow, the temperature in the high 70s with sunny skies. Now, on to other news… Another woman has gone missing. This is the third this month. If anyone knows the whereabouts of—"

The television clicked off. Sayuri stood beside us, one hand on her hip, the other held the remote control. The news was certainly disturbing in itself nowadays, and there had been no explanation. It also seemed to coincide with the fewer sightings and incidents involving Digimon. I sipped at the tea, my mind far away, wondering what was to come.

"How is the DATs?" Daimon's inquiry brought me back.

"We need more people on the staff." I responded. "We have only one researcher, who at the same time doubles as our only member capable of fighting since he is the only one with a Digimon."

"I'll come back. I'm sure the Noguchis would agree to it as well."

"You're welcome back at any time." I said. "But the danger…"

Suguru laughed heartily. "I spent a good ten years in the Digital World. Do you think that I don't know the dangers of the Digimon?"

I smiled, feeling the most relieved I had been in the past few months. "I'm glad to have you back."

"I'm glad to be back." Suguru happily stated.

My headset beeped in my ear. "Rentarou-taichou. School has dismissed." Izumi's voice came through.

I looked to the Daimons. "Gomen, demo…"

"We understand. You're a very busy man, Satsuma. Just try not to push yourself too hard." Sayuri said gently.

I stood up and bowed from the waist. I headed back to the front door and slipped my shoes on. Just as I was about to open the door, I felt a hand gently touch my shoulder.

"Satsuma-san. Take care." It was Sayuri, looking at me concernedly, like the mother she was. "And take care of our son."

I nodded. "I will." I opened the door and headed out.

I had barely taken a step out the door when a female high school student bounced into me, her pigtails bobbing up and down just as happily as she was.

"Konnichiwa Satsuma-saaan! Any news about my onii-chan?" the childish teenager asked me brightly.

"Gomen." I sadly replied, dusting myself off after she finally wrenched herself off of me. "Nothing yet, but you'll be first to know if we find anything out."

"Aww, okay." Chika Daimon said with a slight pout.

I almost missed the other teen that was standing behind her, as Chika's bright personality shone over the quiet Ikuto Noguchi behind her. He shyly looked at me from under disheveled navy blue bangs.

"Konnichiwa Satsuma-san." He said almost inaudibly.

I nodded to him to recognize his presence. "Ikuto. I must ask something of you. Your parents." He stood to attention. "I need to know whether or not your parents are able to come back and work for DATs again."

"Wakarimasu." The Noguchi teen answered.

"Arigatou." I said and searched for my keys in a pocket. "I must be leaving now."

"Aww, but we just got here…" Chika whined playfully and swung my arm like the little girl she was.

I gave her a small smile. "The sooner I get back to work, maybe the sooner we'll know of what happened to your brother." I started walking away towards my car.

"Yay!" Chika grinned the widest she had that afternoon. "Baibai Satsuma-san! Remember that I want to be FIRST to know if my brother is okay!"

I did not say anything and entered my car, starting the ignition.

-- 3:48 PM Afternoon – Odaiba DATS headquarters, Odaiba --

"What's the situation, Izumi?" I asked in an authoritative tone through the headset as I parked my car on the street and stepped out.

"Matsuda had spotted Kurosaki not too long ago. I had her withdraw for a while to get out of sight and keep the teen from tracking her. Last she reported, he received a phone call." Izumi answered.

"Did you trace the call?" I walked into the building.

"Yes. It was Mitsuo-san."

There was a short silence between us as I went to the elevators. "Continue the report, Izumi."

"Shirakawa has not had anything out of the unusual to report. Fujieda on the other hand… She is currently boarding a train bound for Osaki station. She is following Kar—I mean the Yagami sister. There appears to be three traces on the train."

I took the elevator up to the observation/command room that Izumi was in. "Does she have any visual feed?"

"Hai. I have already requested it. The Traces have been on the train for 4 minutes."

I entered the command room and slipped into my chair. My eyes lifted to the screen that Izumi had pulled up. One moment there was the image of a normal train ride, the next, static filled the screen.

"Fujieda? Fujieda, come in!!" I said loudly into the headset, watching the screen.

The video somewhat came back on, but it was dark and the interfering static almost made it too hard to make anything out.

"In… tunnel?" Fujieda's voice crackled through the headset. The interference was also effecting the audio transmission. "Not—sure—dark."

"Izumi, record the audio and video transmission."

Izumi nodded and a timer appeared on the screen. A dark figure flashed by in a window and seemed to enter the other car. The only human that could be made out was the closest to the door, a boy with disheveled navy hair in the Odaiba Senior High uniform. The shadow from the window melted through the car and made for the boy. I caught a glimpse of the glowing red eyes before the transmission cut again. After a moment or two, the video returned, clearer and in broad daylight.

"Stop the recording." I said.

Izumi nodded and followed the order. There was a tense silence between us, no doubt trying to decipher what had just happened.

"Izumi. Is that boy a Trace?"

Izumi typed in some keys and brought up a graph of Trace levels. "Hai."

I nodded. No doubt about it. It had to be…

"A Digimon. Isolate a frame and try to clear it of the noise." A voice said from the door.

I turned to see a young blonde man standing there. Touma Norstein. Izumi looked at me and I nodded, confirming that he should follow the action. Izumi typed furiously, his fingers flying the keyboard in his usual manner. Touma strode over to me and raised his hand to his head in a salute.

"Touma Norstein reporting for duty."

The edge of my mouth quirked up in a smile, part of me relieved to have him back. I nodded to Touma who relaxed. He turned to oversee Izumi's work. Every minute or so, a bar would sweep the frame and make the image clearer. After a while, the image would not sharpen any more and Touma inspected it.

"What do you think?" I said aloud, mainly directing the question to Touma.

"What else could it be?" Touma answered, confirming my thoughts. "Though I don't recall any Digimon similar to this in the databanks…"

The image revealed a human-like Digimon encased in dark armor that resembled bones. Eyes were part of its shoulder pads, and the red irises were focused on the boy it was attacking. Swords extended from the skull forearms, the sharp edges aimed to kill.

"Izumi. What was the status of the student after the incident?" I questioned.

Izumi played back the video and paused at the end. The male teen appeared to be fine, and the warrior had disappeared. Touma seemed to notice something else though. He pointed at the still frame which he had ordered Izumi to sharpen.

"Point B-7, enlarge." Touma ordered.

"Taichou." A voice crackled through the headset. Fujieda. "Requesting orders. It appears that the three Traces are to transfer trains."

"Fujieda, follow the male Trace you encountered on the train." I ordered.

"Wakarimasu."

Izumi's fingers returned the keyboard. Moments later, the image was blown up and we could see two cowering girls. The Yagami sister and the purple haired girl from this morning. I could see Izumi tremble slightly.

I got up and placed a hand on Izumi's shoulder. "You've done enough. Take a break."

Izumi got up out of his chair and hastily left the room, Tentomon following, the insect Digimon had not said a word. I looked to Touma.

"Taichou… May I request an update on the situation?" Touma stood to attention.

I nodded and motioned for us to leave the room. "The Digimon began appearing two years ago. There were small incidents. Easy to cover up and handle even without Digimon. The Digimon seem to retreat using the gates that opened for them, so we have not felt the need to work on the Digital Dive. Not yet."

"Not until now." Touma said. "Any contact from Daimon Masaru?"

"Iie." We stood at the elevators, waiting for one of the cable cars to make their way to our floor.

"The staff is low. Has anything been done to compensate?"

The elevator pinged and the metal doors slid open. We entered and I pressed the button for the ground floor.

"As you saw, we have only one recruit. I have personally asked Daimon Suguru to return, who has promptly agreed to return. I am also awaiting the Noguchis' answer. There are other candidates for recruitment."

"May I see the candidates profiles?"

The elevator dinged and I led Touma to the police office façade. I retrieved the manila folders from my desk and handed them to the returning DATs member. He leafed through the files, inspecting them. Touma pulled one out and handed it to me. I took it and opened the file. Taichi Yagami. Age 20. Soon to be attending a college in Osaka. Reportedly involved with the Heighton View Terrace incident.

I looked up from the folder at Touma. He nodded to me. I set the folder on my desk and picked up the receiver of the phone. Raising it to my ear with my left hand, and with my right, I dialed the number that was provided in Taichi Yagami's file.

One ring.

Two rings.

The phone clicked and a young woman's voice spoke through the phone. "Moshimoshi? Yagami residence, Yagami Hikari speaking."

"Is Yagami Taichi there?" I inquired.

"…. H-hai." The Yagami sister said hesitantly. "Who is this?"

"He's being offered a job. I must speak with him."

There was silence for a moment then a male voice came from over the phone. "Hai?"

"Yagami Taichi. I am Taichou Rentarou of DATs. I hereby request your assistance."

* * *

Japanese:

Ohayougozaimasu - Good morning! (long version)

gomen - thank you (short)

taichou - captain

Konnichiwa - good day/hello

onii-chan - older brother (cute version)

Wakarimasu - I understand

Arigatou - thank you (short)

baibai - Bye Bye

* * *

Preview for the next chapter:

Juri Katou's POV

As I ran, I felt the school around me warping. The sky became dark and the color vanished from the school. Even more unnerving, other students began disappearing around me. I made my way up the flight of stairs and found the door the roof swinging wide open, bouncing against the wall on its hinges. I cautiously peeked out onto the roof and saw who I recognized as the boy who brushed passed me. I blinked. He was in my class. There were three other students on the roof, two other males and one female. The shadows were closing a ring around my classmates. I was frozen to the spot, though inside I was screaming. I wanted to scream. I wanted to call for help.

And then…

"Spirit Evolution!!"


End file.
